Enterprise Fellowships at Royal Academy of Engineering

Enterprise Fellowships is a twelve-month accelerator programme designed to support talented university graduates to transform breakthrough engineering innovations into disruptive tech startups.

Enterprise Fellowships is not your ‘average’ accelerator, we were voted the 3^rd most active accelerator by Sifted.eu in 2022. As a non-profit, the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub does not take any fees, equity or IP.

What do we offer?

We are the experts in commercialising engineering research into successful, scalable businesses through a unique package of funding and training:

• an equity-free grant of £50,000 for recent graduates and £75,000 for researchers
• 75 hours of hybrid training
• 1:1 business coaching and mentoring from our unrivalled network of the UK’s leading engineers and Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows
• connections to our network of 100+ investors
• subsidised access to our diversity and inclusion platform Culture+ for engineering startups
• lifetime access to our co-working spaces in London and Belfast
• lifelong membership to the Hub’s exclusive events and networking.

With Enterprise Fellowships, you will have a year to invest time and energy into your long-term business strategy and success.

We will cover business fundamentals, including:

• leadership and operations
• business modelling, value proposition and strategy
• marketing, sales and customers
• finance and funding sources.

By the end of the programme, you will be ready to take your new business to the next level of seed funding and bring your innovation to market.

Who is eligible?

We provide training for potential founders to launch graduate startups and spinout companies in all areas of engineering and tech.

We are looking for aspiring startup founders from a UK university or research institute who:

• have graduated within the last five years
• OR are non-UK citizens with a recent PhD from a UK university

We are also seeking academics or researchers from any UK or Irish university or research institute wishing to spin out a company.

Enterprise Fellowships awardees may also access support from the Royal Academy of Engineering for a UK Global Talent Visa.

With our programme, you cannot work or study full-time or participate in another accelerator at the same time. Flexible options are available, please contact us to discuss.

What innovations are supported?

We support:

• new innovations from any area of engineering, including but not limited to, agricultural, digital, biomedical, fintech, mechanical, electrical, chemical, nuclear, space technology
• innovations that have been shown to work under test conditions at technology readiness level TRL4 or above
• those who have raised less than £500,000 in equity

We can’t support consultancies, or ideas for mobile apps, websites or pure software-based creations unless they are underpinned by an innovative technology, such as your own proprietary AI or machine learning.

If your concept is at technology readiness level TLR2, you may be eligible for our Regional Talent Engines programme.

When can I apply?

Applications open on 15 January 2024 and Stage 1 closes on 26 February 2024. Please read our Essential Guidance Notes and submit your application online.

To apply please click the Apply button

Stage 1 is fast and painless and gives you a direct answer on whether your innovation is ready for business development. If you are successful, you will be invited to submit the Stage 2 application, which gets down to details to assess the potential of your pitch.

For all enquiries, please contact the programme managers at enterprisefellowships@raeng.org.uk.