VentureVersity is a fully funded programme that helps university staff explore whether their research, method or capability could become a product, service or spinout.
It’s backed by Forging Ahead, a 16-university Midlands collaboration supported by Research England and offers successful applicants up to £60,000 of funding and support across two rounds.
Applications for the current round close on 31 July 2026.
If you’re sitting on an idea that came out of your research and you’re not sure what to do with it next, this is worth ten minutes of your time. Here’s what it involves, who’s eligible and how we’ve helped academics through it before.
What is VentureVersity?
VentureVersity was set up to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial reality. It’s designed for early-stage ideas, methods or capabilities where the next step isn’t obvious yet. You don’t need a business plan, a spinout team or a fully defined market to take part.
The programme sits under Forging Ahead, a five-year, Research England-backed initiative bringing together 16 Midlands universities, including Loughborough, Leicester, De Montfort, Nottingham, Birmingham, Warwick, Aston, Coventry and Cranfield. It builds on a successful pilot that ran across Leicester, Loughborough and De Montfort, which generated 38 expressions of interest and saw 11 projects go through to a commercialisation accelerator.
Who can apply to VentureVersity?
VentureVersity is open to anyone working within a partner university with an early-stage idea, method or capability that could have value beyond its current context. That includes:
- Academics and research fellows
- PhD researchers and postdocs
- Technicians and university staff working alongside research teams
You don’t need to be planning a spinout or have any commercial experience. The programme is built specifically for people who aren’t sure yet what their next step should be.
How the VentureVersity funding works
Funding is split across two rounds and you don’t need to know which one applies to you before you apply. That gets worked out as your idea develops.
- Round 1: up to £10,000 (up to £8,500 cash plus £2,500 of support) for market and product validation and pulling a team together
- Round 2: up to £50,000 (up to £30,000 cash plus £20,000 of support) for projects that already show market signals, team capability and a clear action plan
Every applicant, whether or not they’re offered a place on the programme, receives a Fire Test: a technology-assisted market analysis covering potential customer groups, market opportunities, competitor products and practical next steps, reviewed by your university’s Commercialisation Team.
How your idea and IP are protected
A common worry with any commercialisation programme is disclosure. VentureVersity uses a capability-not-mechanism approach, which means you describe what your research can do rather than how it works. For example, you’d say “I’ve found a way to control gravity” rather than explaining the underlying method.
Your submission is still shared with your university’s Commercialisation Team for awareness and reviewed by the VentureVersity team, who remove personal identifiers before it goes any further. If you haven’t already completed your university’s IP disclosure process, you may be asked to do so at that point, but the initial application itself doesn’t require you to reveal your method.
What happens if you’re accepted
Successful Project Leads join a 12-week Clarity Sprint: short virtual learning modules covering essentials like business modelling and value propositions, alongside networking events and access to Commercialisation experts. It’s designed to help you work out where your idea could create the most impact, not to push you straight towards a spinout if that’s not the right route.
How we’ve supported VentureVersity applicants before
We supported five projects through the VentureVersity pilot round, helping academics turn early-stage research into applications and pitches that clearly communicated what their idea could do and why it mattered. Having a validated idea is one thing. Explaining it in a way that a funding panel, and later a market, immediately understands is a different skill and it’s one we spend our working lives on.
If you’re putting together a VentureVersity application and want a second pair of eyes on your pitch or you’re wondering what a research capability actually looks like as a product, we’re happy to talk it through with you.
For more information on our services, take a look at our expertise page
How to apply
Applications for the current round close on 31 July 2026. You can apply directly through the VentureVersity website. If you’d like to talk through your idea before you submit, get in touch and we’ll make time for a call.
Frequently asked questions
VentureVersity is a fully funded programme backed by Forging Ahead, a 16-university Midlands collaboration supported by Research England. It helps university staff explore whether early-stage research, methods or capabilities could become a product, service or spinout.
Anyone working within a partner university with an early-stage idea, method or capability, including academics, research fellows, PhD researchers, postdocs and technicians.
Up to £60,000 across two rounds. Round 1 offers up to £10,000 for validation and team building. Round 2 offers up to £50,000 for projects with stronger market signals and a clear action plan.
No. VentureVersity is designed for ideas where the next step isn't defined yet. You don't need a business plan, a spinout team or a fully defined market to apply.
No. VentureVersity uses a capability-not-mechanism approach, so you describe what your research can do rather than how it works. Your university's Commercialisation Team may still ask you to complete an IP disclosure process separately.
The current round closes on 31 July 2026.
Yes. We supported five projects through the VentureVersity pilot round and can help you shape your application and pitch. Get in touch and we'll talk it through.
