Launch your Startup

Develop your startup with events, competitions and expert advice and support.

Edinburgh Innovations offers a free service at the University of Edinburgh to support any student or recent graduate (up to two years post-graduation) interested in entrepreneurship or freelance, regardless of your discipline or experience. 

Join us for one of our events, competitions and programmes, benefit from one-to-one business advice and make the most of our online resources. You can dive in to any of our activity but if you're not sure where to start here are some suggestions for those perfect first steps:

Activity More info What stage Dates Book now
Venture Track Get the support you need, when you need it, to help build an innovative high growth/impact startup. With expert support to validate your idea, sharpen your proposition and get investor-ready – accelerating your venture’s growth and impact. Speak to your business adviser to take this forward. You should be working on an innovative idea that has high-growth and/or high potential impact. Anytime. Speak to your business adviser about this. Meet a meeting with a business adviser here. 
Power Her Up This is a ten-week programme where women entrepreneurs build the foundation to take a high-growth, high-impact idea and turn it into a venture that solves a real-world problem. Learn directly from founders and industry experts who’ve done it themselves, get one-to-one advice tailored to your venture and build real connections with a cohort of women founders on the same path. You should be working on an innovative idea that has high-growth and/or high potential impact. Applications open in semester 1 with the programme taking place January to March Check out the Information session for more on the Power Her Up programme and if its right for you. 
PhD Max+ This is an eight-week programme designed to be a low-commitment way to explore what it takes to go from research to founder. Over the programme you will take part in a series of interactive workshops and hear directly from startup founders who were once PhD students. Test the waters with no prior business experience needed, just curiosity about where your research could go outside of academia. Earlier stage - you don't need an idea, just enthusiasm to give it a go.   Applications open in semester 1 with the programme taking place January to February Find out more about PhD Max+ programme. 
Startup Summer Accelerator Every startup founder needs a starting point and this is it. This intensive, three-month programme for founders who are ready to start building. Access real insights from founders, join a cohort of fellow participants and take strategic steps to make serious progress. For founders with a business concept who are ready to do something serious about it. Applications open in semester 2 with the programme taking place June - August. Find our more about the Startup Summer Accelerator programme. 

E-zone 

A home for our entrepreneurial community. Join us in the e-zone at the Bayes Centre. Pop in anytime, grab a table to work on your startup or meet with your team. Find out more and visit us now. 

Opportunities, events and support - straight to your inbox

Sign-up to our newsletter and emails for upcoming events, workshops, programmes and competitions as well as good news stories, funding and other opportunities. 

This article was published on