Summer Startup Programme

• A diversity of ideas  
• Innovative concepts 
• Desirability, Viability, and Feasibility of ideas, alongside their potential to generate value in the world.  
• How much impact the Summer Startup Programme will have on you and your future! 

• 18-20 ventures selected 

• Any UC student with an idea, enrolled until at least the 25th of October 2026 can apply! 

• Individuals or teams are welcome to apply to participate.

• Selected participants are expected to be able to commit full-time to the development of their venture during the duration of the Summer Startup Programme.  

• With the exception of the Christmas/New Year break, each weekday will feature an action-packed series of workshops, inspiring and industry expert speakers, and mentoring. 

• Any scholarships awarded are for ventures (not individuals), and teams will need to split scholarships between members at their own discretion. At least one member from each team will be expected to participate full-time.

• The Summer Startup Programme runs 9am – 3pm each weekday (with the exception of public holidays) between Monday 9th November – Friday 11th December 2026 and Tuesday 5th January – Wednesday 3rd February 2027. 

• Participants are expected to attend all speaker sessions and workshops where possible and to commit to working on the development of their venture outside of these times. 

During the application process you will be asked questions relating to:

• Your personal details including student id, area of study, and contact information. 
• Idea/Venture Name 
• Idea Summary e.g. overview of problem, solution, and unique value proposition and how it would be delivered/channels (500 words) 
• Who your idea serves? e.g. who will it benefit and create value for? (500 words) 
• Current status of your idea? e.g. what progress have you made to date? Is your idea in ideation stage, product development/commercialisation stage? 
• Any IP considerations/ownership related to your venture? (it is fine if you don’t know yet) 
• What would you personally like to gain from participating in the Summer Startup Programme? (500 words) 
• Your career aspirations? (500 words) 

*Note: If you have a team (ie. more than one person), you each need to apply separately but can reuse the answers to idea/venture specific questions. 

In conjunction with the programme, UCE has a limited number of Summer Startup Scholarships to offer students and to assist them with working on their ventures over the summer period. 

Exact scholarship amounts are to be confirmed but are generally $5,000 - $6,000 for individual ventures and $8,000 - $9,000 for team-based ventures (2 or more participants).

Scholarship recipients must agree to 2026/27 Summer Startup Scholarship criteria and be present for at least 90% of the programme.

All applications for the Summer Startup Programme are automatically considered for the Scholarship.  

Over the past 14 years UCE's Summer Startup has supported a diverse range of students in their ventures. 

If you want to find out more about the Summer Startup Programme, contact uce@canterbury.ac.nz  or feel free to pop up and see us at UCE, Level 6, Rehua Building, University of Canterbury.