Regulations of Dock - Startup Lab

Dock - The Startup Lab (hereinafter referred to as "Dock") is the validation program for innovative entrepreneurial ideas organized by Unfold Tomorrow sbrl.

OBJECTIVES

Dock has two main objectives:

  • Support the creation of new innovative and sustainable entrepreneurial activities that can generate value for the market and society.

  • Promote interest in innovation and the entrepreneurial approach among those who are attending or have completed a course of study with any higher education institution and researchers, both in scientific and technical fields as well as in humanities and social sciences, strengthening those soft skills that are essential for pursuing an independent career path and increasingly required in every type of employment or professional activity.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The program is aimed at those who work, conduct research, attend, or have completed higher education (at universities, ITS, academies, high training schools, etc.). It is not necessary to have your own entrepreneurial idea to participate.

APPLICATION

You can apply to Dock by the deadlines indicated and by filling out the form on the website www.dockstartuplab.com.

The application is individual. If a team wishes to participate in Dock, each of its members must submit their own individual application, indicating the names of the other team members. Teams applying to Dock must meet the requirements outlined in Art. 8 of this Regulation.

For the application to be valid, it is necessary to fill out all the fields of the form on the website and attach a CV and motivational letter.

The CV must be one page, in pdf format. The motivational letter must be in pdf format and must not exceed one page in length. The two pdf files must be less than 2 MB and must be named respectively:

  • name_surname_CV.pdf

  • name_surname_motivational_letter.pdf

Applications in word format, incorrectly named, or longer than one page will not be considered valid.

SELECTION

The Scientific Committee undertakes to read and evaluate all applications within two weeks of the closing of the call for application and select 100 (or more) participants among the eligible candidates. The selection results will be communicated to the candidates exclusively via email.

The selection criteria are: motivation, previous experiences and skills, order of receipt of the application, and balancing the disciplines of the participants' backgrounds.

Every month, from the opening to the closing of the call for application, up to 10 candidates may be selected in preview who will have access to community events to start getting to know the Dock ecosystem. The final selection will be made from all applications received.

PROGRAM

The program consists of both online and in-person meetings, with mandatory attendance. Additional optional meetings may be added to encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration among participants and to deepen certain topics. The meetings and webinar will be held in English.

The schedule of the meetings is available at the address https://www.dockstartuplab.com/program. If it becomes necessary to reschedule dates, locations, and times for one or more meetings, the new date will be communicated to the participants in advance.

Given the large number of participants, everyone is required to be punctual: the maximum permitted delay is 10 minutes from the start of the meeting. This means that access to meetings will not be allowed once 10 minutes have elapsed from the start time.

In case of inability to attend a meeting, it is necessary to notify the Dock staff by sending an email to info@dockstartuplab.com before the meeting starts.

TEAM FORMATION

Participants have until 1:00 pm on April 10, 2025, to form a multidisciplinary team and communicate the composition to the organizers. The communication must be made via email by one of the team members (who will assume the role of team coordinator). The email must be sent to info@dockstartuplab.com and must cc the other team members. Participants who have not communicated their team affiliation will not be able to continue the program.

Teams must meet two requirements:

  • Size: each team must consist of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 people (from the participants of Dock).

  • Multidisciplinarity: each team can have a maximum of 2 members from the same area of study/work.

DISQUALIFICATION

Participants lose the opportunity to participate in two cases:

  • Unnotified Absence: participants who do not attend one of the mandatory meetings without having notified their absence before the start of the meeting will be disqualified from the program.

  • Absence Exceeding the Limit: one individual absence is allowed before the team formation; from the second absence onwards, the participant is disqualified. After team formation, each team must ensure the presence of at least two members at each meeting. Optional meetings are not included in the absence calculation. It should be noted that access is not allowed after a delay of more than 10 minutes from the start of the meetings (Art. 7); latecomers over 10 minutes will therefore be considered absent.

Teams can also be disqualified from the program for two reasons:

  • Individualization of a Team: by definition, a team consists of at least 2 people. Participants who remain alone due to withdrawal or disqualification of the other team members lose their team qualification and thus the opportunity to participate in Dock.

  • Delay in Delivering a Required Output: if a team fails to deliver—or delivers late—a required output, it will be disqualified.

Finally, the Scientific Committee reserves the right to disqualify those who demonstrate behaviors and attitudes that could damage the program or other competitors.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

The Scientific Committee of Dock Startup Lab is responsible for the planning and implementation of the entire program; it selects the teams admitted to Dock and is responsible for every subsequent evaluation regarding the admitted teams.

MENTORS

The Scientific Committee will assign a “mentor” to each team, a figure with proven experience in the world of startups and innovation (entrepreneurs, managers, industry experts) who will support the team free of charge during the program. Specifically, each mentor will offer the team their expertise for a guaranteed minimum of 6 hours.

DEMODAY

After the conclusion of Dock, the best teams emerging from the program will have the opportunity to be selected, at the unquestionable judgment of the Scientific Committee, to participate in June 2025 at DemoDay, an event attended by investors, entrepreneurs, and company managers.

LIMITATIONS ON THE IDEAS

Any type of innovative entrepreneurial idea is admitted to the program, regardless of the trade sector and development stage. However, projects concerning activities considered unethical by the Scientific Committee, such as the manufacture, processing, or distribution of tobacco, pornography, gambling, human cloning research, and the manufacture or distribution of goods or services for military purposes, are not eligible for the program.

PRIVACY POLICY

The personal data collected by Dock for the purpose of managing participation and the event's execution must be truthful.

The registered data will be included in a database owned by the Scientific Committee, in accordance with the Data Protection Act. The Scientific Committee declares to have adopted technical and organizational measures for data protection on privacy.

Pursuant to the Law, the user declares their authorization in favor of Dock to send information about its services, sponsors, and collaborators, even via email or similar means. To unsubscribe, simply write to info@dockstartuplab.com with the subject: "Remove personal data".

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND WARRANTIES

By participating in Dock and accepting these Regulations, each participant:

  • Explicitly declares that every prototype or mock-up presented is original and does not violate in any way, neither in whole nor in part, the property, intellectual or industrial rights of third parties, releasing Dock from any and all responsibilities, liabilities, claims for damages, and/or indemnities that might be asserted by any third party in this regard;

  • Recognizes that each prototype or mock-up presented is owned by the Team, which assumes the burden and full responsibility for protecting it and its inventive and/or original aspects through the means provided by the legal system (registration, patent, or similar, as the case may be);

  • Acknowledges that the eventual publication by Dock of the prototype or mock-up on websites and social networks will result in public visibility and that Dock assumes no responsibility in case of use and/or abuse of the idea and/or any development and implementation of the same and/or the project related to it by anyone who became aware of it through access to websites and social networks, waiving for this reason any claim for damages and/or indemnities against Dock for any title, reason, and/or cause.

The Scientific Committee reserves the right to modify or cancel the initiative due to force majeure.

Participation in Dock implies the full acceptance of these regulations.