To encourage young graduates to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, from 2012, KMU participated in the U-Start Program, the entrepreneurial service program for graduates sponsored by the Ministry of Education. This year, The team members of KMU have obtained 4 U-start projects (Ministry of Education), and they have gained the funding of NT. 500,000 for each project.
About U-Start Program
‧Goal
To promote the campus innovation and entrepreneurship culture, the Youth Development Administration combines the incubation and innovation resources of colleges and universities to assist young students to bring out their youthful passion for creativity, and have the opportunity to realize their own start-up dreams.
‧Eligibility:
1. Start-up teams must have at least three members, two-thirds or more of the members must be students graduated from college or university in recent five years or current students (including undergraduates and post-graduates).
2. 18-35 years old non-students or foreign nationals holding a resident certificate are allowed to join the team.
3. Each person may only join one team, and teams should be connected to an incubating college or university.
‧Mechanism
1. The U-start plan operate with incubation centers in colleges and universities to assist the youth in starting businesses.
2. Qualified teams can receive US$11,000 in subsidy during the first stage. Start-up teams will receive guidance and assistance from the incubation unit for at least six months.
3.During the second stage, teams scoring high are given startup awards of US$8,000 to US$32,000. In addition, the plan also provides expert on-site visits, entrepreneurial clinics, and workshops to help the team operate steadily.