*Please note that Student Enterprise Funding is only available to individuals who are legally eligible to start a business in the UK*

International students with Student Visa immigration permission are not permitted to engage in business activity in the UK whilst they are studying on a Student Visa and are therefore NOT eligible for this funding.

For guidance on what you can and cannot do on a general Student Visa please visit the government website: Student visa : Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Student Enterprise Funding is available to undergraduate, postgraduate taught, and postgraduate research students and recent graduates.

• FREELANCE, START and BUILD Pathway funding is available to students who have graduated within the 18 months preceding each funding round.
• GROW Pathway funding is available to students who have graduated within the 36 months preceding each GROW pathway funding round.

Students can apply as individuals, a partnership or group. If applying as a partnership or group, please complete a single application and assign a lead applicant.

Students who have previously received funding from the Student Enterprise Fund pathways are eligible to apply to future rounds for additional funding, within the following parameters:

• Students must provide evidence of successful spend, impact of the previous funding awarded and can demonstrate realistic projections based on the further funding required.
• Students can win up to a maximum £1k per year and up to £2k across multiple years for the same business via the FREELANCE Fund pathway.
• Students can win up to a maximum £1k per year and up to £2k across multiple years for the same business via the START Fund pathway.
• Students can win up to a maximum of £4k per year and up to a total of £4k across multiple years for the same business via the BUILD Pathway.
• Students can win up to a maximum total of £10k across multiple years for the same business, across all three funding pathways.

To apply for any one of the four funding pathways, you will first need to complete an online application form. Please click on the relevant fund above to be directed to the relevant application form.

In the application form, you will be asked to provide a link to a 2 minute pitch video.

• Record a video pitch (max 2 minutes – further details on the application form)
• Upload your video pitch to any online video sharing platform and include the link in your application form.

For applicants to the START Pathway (Autumn 24 / Summer 25):

• Funding decisions will be based on the application form and the video pitch.

For applicants to the BUILD Pathway (Autumn 24 / Summer 25):

• Short-listed candidates, based on the application form and video pitch, will be in invited to a panel interview, where they will be expected to present their business/social enterprise idea.
• Students invited to panel will have three minutes to pitch, and this will be followed by up to ten minutes of Q&A from the panel.

For applicants to the GROW Pathway (Spring 25/Summer 25):

• Short-listed candidates, based on the application form and video pitch, will be in invited to a panel interview, where they will be expected to present their business/social enterprise idea.
• Students invited to panel will have three minutes to pitch, and this will be followed by up to ten minutes of Q&A from the panel.

For applicants to the FREELANCE Pathway (Spring 25/Summer 25):

• Funding decisions will be based on the application form and the video pitch.

Expectations for the Panel Interviews (BUILD & GROW Pathways):

• Applicants will be short-listed based on the strength of their application form video pitch. Unsuccessful applicants, who do not make the short-list will be notified at this stage.
• Short-listed applicants will be invited to panel and asked to create a three-minute pitch presentation. The presentation should provide a concise business overview. Further details of what the presentation is expected to include will be provided in your Panel invite email.
• Following your presentation there will be approximately 10 minutes for questions from the Panel.
• Panel interviews will be held on-line via Microsoft Teams.
• Please contact the Student Enterprise Team at [email protected] with any accessibility requirements or concerns.

The Engineers in Business Competition (EIBC) awards prizes of up to £1500, in addition to funding available via Student Enterprise Fund to those who study engineering or a related science degree subject.  

Students from around the UK take part in EIBF-funded competitions each year, enabling them to gain more commercial skills to take forward into their careers. You could even find yourself shortlisted for the Champion of Champions Competition where finalists compete for a share of the £16,500 prize pot, which includes seed funding, mentoring, and exposure to business leaders. 

Over the last 3 years we have had four businesses go through to this grand final hosted at the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

In 2024, student business pAiback won the enterprise award at Champions of Champions.  pAiback was founded and developed by University of Southampton aeronautical engineering PHD student, Morgan Taylor, alongside co-founders Tom Alner and Jason Lucking. The platform takes advantage of dynamic pricing and the removal of change fees, using real-time price monitoring to automatically secure refunds or e-credits when prices drop after booking. Unlike other price protection services, pAiback offers full transparency and unlimited savings on a win-win, commission-only basis. 

In 2023, the main Big Ideas prize of £3,000 plus mentoring was won by Meta Futura Aerospace from the University of Southampton, which also picked up the in-show Audience Prize of £500. Their MetaFlex innovation is a ground-breaking attitude and orbit control system designed for space organisations, satellite operators and research institutions.

In 2022, the Big Ideas first prize of £3,000 plus People’s Vote and Audience Vote Prizes of £1,000 were awarded to Amara Automotive from the University of Southampton. Amara’s Elecy is a four-wheeled, weatherproof e-bike, offering crash protection, that focuses on minimising emissions during both the production and operation stages, and allows for upgrading rather than replacement.

Furthermore, the Startup Business runner-up prize of £1,500 was awarded to AMRSS from the University of Southampton: AMRSS provides AI solutions for real-time aerodynamic performance analysis, to enable engineers within the automotive, aerospace and renewables sectors to improve decision-making throughout the design, test, and deployment stages.

Find out more about the EIBC Champion of Champions Final here: https://www.eibc.org.uk/champion-of-champions/