Ideepesa: Cultivating Innovation and Entrepreneurial Thinking at Tallinn University

During the Autumn 2025/2026 semester, Tallinn University's Impact Lab launched its first pre-incubation programme, Ideepesa (Ideas Nest), to further bridge the gap between academic learning and practical startup development. Ideepesa 2.0 is now open for joining for the Spring 2025/2026 cohort.

Ideepesa pilot programme first session in September 2025.

During the Autumn 2025/2026 semester, Tallinn University's Impact Lab launched its first pre-incubation programme, Ideepesa (Ideas Nest), to further bridge the gap between academic learning and practical startup development. Alongside Tallinn University's existing entrepreneurship programmes, Ideepesa aims to deepen students' entrepreneurial thinking across a variety of institutes and study fields.

Embedded in LIFE (ELU): 6 ECTS of interdisciplinary, project-based learning

With the support of the Academic Affairs Office and the team of LIFE of Tallinn University, Ideepesa was integrated into the university’s LIFE (ELU) structure, an interdisciplinary project-based learning initiative, designed for both Bachelor’s and Master’s students and worth 6 ECTS (equivalent to 150-180 academic hours). Ideepesa pilot was also continuously tested with project partners of C-Accelerate Plus that brings together a diverse and dynamic consortium of higher education institutions, including Tallinn University, LUCA School of Arts, Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Lusófona University, the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU), the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA), as well as the FilmEU Association.

How Ideepesa works

Ideepesa starts prior to each academic semester with an idea collection phase where the supervisors reach out to both industry experts as well as Tallinn University's staff/students to recruit “idea generators” that have pre-seed development stage business ideas that can then be developed with other participants. The program emphasises responsible and sustainable entrepreneurship, guiding teams through the process of turning an initial concept into a minimum viable product using business development and innovation tools, and conducting thorough market research. The programme finishes with a pitching event where each team has the opportunity to pitch the ideas they’ve been working on all semester to a panel of industry professionals. The panellists of the pilot programme were Katri-Liis Lepik, running the SEMA programme; Annely Aer, an Executive Director of Sustainable Business Estonia (Kestliku Ettevõtluse Liit KELL); Margaret Aidla, a Marketing Manager at Tallinn Business Incubator; and Mart Repnau, a Knowledge Transfer Analyst at Enterprise X University (EXU) of Tallinn University.

Ideepesa 2.0 is open: Spring 2025/2026 cohort and next steps

The pre-incubation programme Ideepesa 2.0 for the Spring 2025/2026 semester is now published on Tallinn University's LIFE website HERE, and the idea selection phase has been successfully completed with five business/innovation ideas joining the programme this time around. For further questions, please contact the programme supervisor HERE.

Ideepesa pilot programme pitching event in December 2025.

Pilot results: participant satisfaction and what students valued most

The overall satisfaction rate of the pilot of Tallinn University’s pre-incubation programme Ideepesa amongst participants was 4.13 (1-5 rating scale). Some of the feedback from the students was as follows:

“Our team had a good mix of experiences and a respectful atmosphere. We got a chance to explore an accessibility idea and further widen our knowledge with the backing of PhD research.”

“Real examples and analyzing real companies. I was lucky to have a good team. The supervisors were good and engaging.”

“Very refreshing, useful. I especially liked the opportunity to go to the 2-day conference (Impact Day 2025).”

“The structure was supportive and easy to follow. The “Ideepasa” pre-incubation programme was valuable because it provided practical guidance on developing the project ideas. It offered useful tools for shaping and improving our project. The sessions were engaging and helped clarify important concepts.”

“We had a chance to mix our experiences and fill in each others’ gaps. Some had never used the business model canvases or been part of the startup world, some had. Regardless of that, each brought something valuable to the table and that’ s what made it special.”

“The theoretical parts were introduced very clearly and there the supervisors/mentors (from organisations such as KELL and Unsume) offered great support throughout the programme.”

Three pilot projects tackling real challenges

Ideepesa pilot successfully nurtured three distinct projects, each addressing a specific societal or environmental challenge:

“Culture for All” / “Ember Agora” and accessible culture

“Culture for All” or “Ember Agora” with an aim to advance accessible culture in Estonia by bringing cultural creators, organisers, funders, and people with disabilities (experiencing physical, communicative, and attitudinal barriers when wanting to access culture) to the same table using an intensive ideation session/hackathon format. The team lead, Keiu Virro, participated in the Falling Walls Science Summit held in Berlin in November 2025. The Falling Walls Lab Pitches | Playlist 2025 can be seen here: https://falling-walls.com/lab (Keiu Virro's presentation is number 18/99 in the playlist menu).

The winning team, “Avasta”, at the Ideepesa pitching event in December 2025.

“Avasta” and immersive Estonian-language learning

“Avasta” with an aim to make Estonian-language learning more immersive, accessible, and effective through a gamified language-learning app. 18% of Estonia’s population is now foreign-born. This includes students, workers, and other long-term migrants who need Estonian for daily life but struggle to learn it effectively. Current learning methods, such as classroom courses or private tutors, can be costly and inconvenient. Few mainstream language apps offer Estonian. Learners frequently “study” Estonian but cannot confidently use it in everyday situations. Their solution was developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test the hypothesis that immersive, story-based learning can make learning a foreign language easier and more accessible.

Team “Avasta” was the winning team at the pitching event held in December 2025 in the LIFE space at Tallinn University. The prototype can be found here https://languageapp.itch.io/avasta.

“Zero-Bin” and reducing household food waste

“Zero-Bin” with an aim to address the fact that households account for 53% of food waste in the EU, alongside the problems such as lack of organisation in the kitchen that is making meal planning stressful, and unnecessary overspending due to buying duplicates or not using what is already at home. Their solution involved a digital kitchen inventory system that uses barcode scanning and AI to track expiration dates and suggest recipes based on available ingredients.

Ideepesa pre-incubation programme of Tallinn University stands as a promising "nest" for students, junior researchers and industry professionals to test their business ideas, using creativity, innovation, and co-creation combined with academic theory and entrepreneurial thinking, and turning them into start-ups that could participate in a hackathon/incubator and become part of the ever-growing ecosystem of Estonia.