DTU's mission is to bring the next generation of technology to the front lines to win the war. That is our purpose.
Concept formAn idea. Name, contact, and the idea.+
Project formA forming team and plan. A few quick questions.+
Ready to send
Your submission has been dispatched directly to the DTU intake team. A formatted copy is provided below for your records.
Information below
You keep your IP
The idea stays yours. DTU never takes ownership of your concept. Any terms are written down and shared before you commit.
Funding & a coach
Concepts that clear the bar become funded DTU projects with a dedicated coach to help you scope a plan and hit milestones.
A line to customers
We connect proven concepts to companies, units, and end users in Ukraine, and to allied customers, for real feedback and adoption.
What turns a concept into a DTU project
A concept is just an idea. To be adopted and resourced as a project, it needs to clear four thresholds, have someone able to lead it, and the will to push it through.
Battlefield usefulness
It solves a real problem operators face now, and the people affected would actually use it.
Product feasibility
It can be built with technology that exists or is within reach, not a decade-long research program.
Economic practicality
The cost per unit makes sense for how it will be used and how many are needed.
Localized implementability
It can realistically be produced, supported, and deployed in Ukraine.
Willpower
Ideas are everywhere and most are good. What matters is whether you are willing to push yours through.
Thinking it up and running it are two jobs
They are often the same person. Often they are not, and that is normal. Having the idea does not oblige you to run the team.
The person with the idea
You saw the problem and the opportunity. You own the concept and stay central to it. You do not need to manage the build.
The person who runs the build
Good at seeing the pieces, writing the roles, and delegating. Sometimes that is you, sometimes someone with more experience in the stack.
If you want to lead it, great. If you would rather stay the owner and have DTU help find a lead, say so in the form.
The full Concept Assessment
When a project moves forward, we work through this longer assessment together. Read it here, or get the document to fill in offline.
Open the full Concept Assessment +
Section 1 — Concept
Initial idea
What prompted this? Why does it matter now, and who is affected?
Background
The situation today and how it got here. What is known, unknown, and assumed? What is in and out of scope?
Goals
What are we trying to create? What does success look like, and by what measures? What if we do nothing?
Options
What sets of actions could reach the goal? Stay broad, including unconventional ones, without picking a favorite yet.
Section 2 — Inquiry
Targeted research
What more do we need to know? What evidence, which assumptions tested, what work remains?
Actionable solutions
For the chosen option, what could the end result look like, and what tradeoffs and constraints apply?
Section 3 — Assessment
Stakeholders & resources
- Who benefits, and who bears the cost if it fails?
- Who owns the problem, the solution, who leads, who does the work?
- What people and skills are needed to carry it forward?
Confidence & readiness
- How complete and reliable is this as a basis for a decision?
- What is solid, and what is still tentative?
- What decision is it ready to support?
Fit for DTU
- Does it fit DTU's mission as an engineering force multiplier?
- Does it address a validated operational need?
- Is it achievable within a volunteer structure?
- Is another organization better positioned to do it?
- Any legal, security, or export-control issues (e.g. ITAR, Geneva)?
