Abstract: The subject of the study is a set of managerial relations that arise in the process of organizing student participation in the creation of a startup based on educational institutions of higher education as a final qualifying work. The object of the research is the educational activity of a higher educational institution. The authors consider in detail the life cycle of developing a bachelor's thesis in the form of a startup in the light of development trends in the design and innovation activities of university students. Particular attention is paid to the most correct sequence of stages when writing a WRC-Startup. The article analyzes and summarizes the experience of implementing and commercializing a start-up project based on Sochi State University. The main result of the study is the identification of algorithms and technologies for managing the preparation of the WRC in the form of a startup. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is the formation of an information model for managing the participation of a bachelor student in the program "Startup as a Diploma". The novelty of the study lies in the systematization of the priority issues of developing a student startup project for defense as a bachelor's thesis. Based on the results of the study, it is proposed to conduct creative business games for undergraduate students in order to develop start-up thinking with the prospect of future participation in the design and innovation activities of a higher educational institution.