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Welcome to Danube Cup 2025 and to the host of this year
The 9th International Pitching Contest
The Danube Cup is an annual International Pitch Competition for students of universities along the Danube. Two Hungarian top universities, Corvinus University of Budapest and Budapest University of Technology and Economics, founded the competition in 2016. Danube Cup’s mission is to bring start-ups to international success, while bringing together the most motivated university start-ups along the river Danube. This year’s 9th edition is organized by the Corvinus University of Budapest.
Corvinus University of Budapest (for short: CORVINUS or Corvinus) is a medium-sized institution, when measured on a European scale, with a focus on economic and social sciences. The University is one of Hungary’s leading educational institutions in the field of economic and social sciences. Moreover, it is more than that: a community that is good and worthwhile to belong to.
Building on our over one hundred years of traditions, we are constantly developing. Together with our lecturers, researchers and colleagues, we work to make Corvinus one of the best universities in the world, and to educate the elite of societies and economies of the region here in Hungary. Our goal is that talented students do not have to choose a university abroad in order to acquire internationally recognized, competitive and marketable knowledge. Social and financial standing should not be an obstacle to learning: our best-performing students may study on the basis of excellence, free of charge.
Corvinus stands for quality and opportunities: up-to-date and useful knowledge, a wide range of contacts, career opportunities, and lifelong friendships. At our University, we strive to achieve even more together.
Part of Corvinus is the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which aim is to foster and develop the entrepreneurial attitude, mind- and toolset of students, graduates, and corporate partners to help them exploit future opportunities by turning innovative ideas into action through its teaching, research, consultancy, mentoring, training, and professional support activities.
The Institute attempts to develop and nurture strong ties with the Corporate and Institutional Relations (VIK) in strengthening university-industry relations and providing help for the foundation of a University-level incubator supporting the realization of the University’s strategic goal to become an active participant in the national and regional innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The Department of Innovation and Business Incubations motto is “Creativity is the precursor to innovation”.
As part of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Department aims to develop a leading Hungarian think tank on innovation, connecting all participants in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The aim is to develop the entrepreneurial competences of students and support their entry into the entrepreneurial environment.
What can you expect at Danube Cup 2025?
The Danube Cup is a unique opportunity for early-stage student start-up teams to:
- compete with other student start-up teams on an international level
- receive professional business advice from experienced start-up mentors and entrepreneurs
- learn that international market research is a must
- understand the importance of start-up validation
- practice pitching in front of a jury
- make friends with other local and international students
- get familiar with ecosystem players and widen your social network
- connect with students from other countries and broaden your network
- find additional team members with skills currently missing in your team
- win a prize at the final competition
- hold the perpetual Danube Cup trophy for one year
National Pre-Selection
Each partner university individually nominates two student start-up teams to participate in the semi-final. The eighteen teams will be mentored by the respective universities preparing for the semi-final. To be eligible, teams must meet the following requirements and must be nominated by the delegating universities of the Danube Cup network.
Selection Criteria:
- Validation: We are looking for teams that have already performed validation research for their ideas, at least locally. This event is not an idea competition, so teams are required to have already performed some market research or gained traction. The applicants must have validated the business idea among potential customers, the product must be innovative and enjoy a growth potential independently of local market trends.
- Team size: Teams must have at least two, maximum five total members. Participants can only be a member of one team.
- Availability: In principle, the teams must be available for the Danube Cup program; in exceptional cases, a single member may also pitch.
- Student teams: Teams may contain non-university member participants. However, the majority of the members should be composed of registered students and one of them should be studying at Danube Cup partner universities.
- Funding: Teams must be in a early stage, that have not received equity related financial backing by professional third-party accelerators, existing companies or venture capitalists.
- Summary: Teams participating in the Danube Cup must consist of 2 to 5 members, with each participant belonging to only one team. Student teams are encouraged, with a majority of members being registered students, including at least one from partner universities. Delegated startups should have a validated business concept, are innovative, have growth potential, are in international demand and no external (market-) capital for equity has been raised. An existing prototype is not a prerequisite of application.
What to expect at the final?
- Competition Finalists are expected to prepare a presentation showcasing the company’s innovative solution, idea, and/or technology. Finalists will pitch in English.
- Pitch time will be 4 minutes. At the end of the pitch, the panel of judges will be provided additional time for Q&A.
- Finalists will be assessed by a panel of judges consisting of acclaimed academics and industry professionals, and the results will be announced at the Award Ceremony & Closing Session on the same day.
Competition Eligibility for Danube Cup 2025
Only the selected teams on the national pre-selection can be eligible to compete on the danube cup final 20205 at the CORVINUS UNIVERSITY OF BUDAPEST.
To be eligible, teams must meet the following requirements:
Validation: We are looking for teams that have already performed validation research for their ideas, at least locally. This event is not an idea competition. The applicants must have started validating the business idea among potential customers, the product must be innovative and enjoy a growth potential independently of local market trends as far as possible.
Team size: Teams must have at least two, maximum five total members. Participants can only be a member of one team.
Student teams: Teams may contain non-university member participants. However, the majority of the team members should be registered as a student at one of the participating university. A “registered student” is a student who has been accepted into a degree program at respected Unviersity and is working toward the completion of that degree by taking at least one course in the 2024/25 academic year.
Fresh project: Teams must present an original idea for an enterprise that has not existed before 2025. Teams must be in a “pre-incubator” form and must not have received financial backing by professional third-party business angels or venture capitalists.
How to Apply?
Interested? We’d love to see you pitch! We request all applicants to submit a short video via our website in English that gives us a sense of who you are and how your solution would be propelling the future of the world. Video submissions should cover the following points in max. 4 minutes:
Your startup’s value proposition
Problem(s) your product and/or service is solving
The validation you have already conducted: process and results: significant insights, surprising, and pivot you decided consequently
Why your startup is a good fit for the Danube Cup 2025 International Entrepreneurial Pitch Competition for University Students along the Danube
Questions may also be sent to: info@danubecup.eu
PITCH DECK REQUIREMENT
The Why (outlining the problem)
The What (proposed solution/service…)
The How (business model)
The Where (market [size] & competition)
USP/UBR (what differentiates you from existing solutions? what make you stand out?)
The Who? (team)
Timeline & Financials
Get to know it!
The best teams of each partner university plus two runner-ups make it to final.
At Budapest final many social programmes and prestigious Danube Cup prize is waiting for you.
1st prize is 2000 EUR
2nd prize is 1000 EUR
3rd prize is 500 EUR
See you there!
Danube Cup 2025 Timeline:
30 April 2025 – Application deadline – DC ’25
5 May 2025 – International DC ’25 Semi-final (online)
22-24 May, 2025 – DC ’25 Int’l Final at Budapest
APPLY HERE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DANUBE CUP 2025
Danube Cup Event Team
Dr. Attila Petheő – Teamlead
Associate Professor – Rector’s Office / Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Philip Kádár
Operations and Event Management
Anna Szeitz
Associate Event Management
Sára Both
Associate Event Management
Zsófia Szilágyi
Associate Operations Management
Gitta Bolla
Associate Operations Management