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QIncubator

QIncubator is Queen Mary University of London’s flagship incubator programme designed to help students, graduates, and researchers turn early-stage ideas into viable businesses. 

Applications are Closed

Apply by 7 December 2025 11:59PM

With a focus on ventures aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, students and graduates will be supported to turn ideas or research into validated, revenue-generating or investment-ready ventures.

The programme builds entrepreneurial capability across the university community and connects founders to follow-on funding opportunities—strengthening Queen Mary’s pipeline of student and graduate startups.

Teams will be given hands-on learning to build their businesses, with mentorship and funding opportunities along the way.  Teams will pitch for a share of up to £20,000 at the final.

Programme Dates

QIncubator will run in 2 phases: Phase 1 is 27 Jan-31 March 2026; Phase 2 (selected ventures only) is 7 April-26 May 2026.  

The cohort will meet in person in the Bancroft building (Mile End Campus) on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:30pm - attendance for team leads is mandatory but other team members welcome as well.

Note: programme dates and topics may change closer to the time due to facilitator availability or reasons outside of our control. If any date changes occur, the cohort will be promptly informed. 

27 January 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Programme Launch and Induction (in person)

w/c 2 February 2026, various times: Coaching and Mentoring Assessment (online)

3 February 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Business Models and the Entrepreneurial Journey (in person)

10 February, 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Customer Needs and Value Proposition (in person)

17 February 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Value Delivery and Collaborations (in person)

24 February 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Intellectual Property & Legal Basics (in person)

3 March 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Entrepreneurial Finance (in person)

w/c 9 March 2026: Applications for progression to Phase 2 close

10 March 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Building Traction & Go-To-Market (in person)

17 March 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Pitching, Storytelling & Communication (in person)

w/c 23 March 2026, various times: Pitch practise (online)

24 March 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: Scaling, sustainability and impact (in person)

31 March 2026, 4-7:30pm: Mid-programme Pitch Night with mentors and external supporters (in person)

Phase 2 - Venture Mentoring

7 April - 26 May, various times: intensive weekly mentoring (online and/or in person)

9 June 2026, 5:30-7:30pm: QIncubator Pitch Night

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for QIncubator:

  • Applicant team leads must be a current registered undergraduate or postgraduate at Queen Mary University of London or must have graduated within the last three years.
  • Team leads must be based in the UK for the duration of the programme (January-June 2026 – specific programme dates are listed on our website under Key Dates section
  • Applicants may apply as single applicants or as leaders of a team of no more than 5 individuals. 
  • Applicant team leads must own at minimum 25% of the venture or an equal share of ownership if the team consists of more than four team members.
  • Only one application per team (each team member does not need to make an application)
  • Individuals can only be part of one application

Team leads must meet the eligibility criteria or the application will not be reviewed by our team.

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please do not hesitate to contact the QUEST team at quest@qmul.ac.uk  Any pre-application discussions regarding eligibility will remain confidential.

Tips for Making a Good Application

  • You can click to download the programme application questions in advance from Careers Hub. We recommend preparing your answers in MS Word before submitting online.
  • Please format your answers into clear and concise bullet points for readability.
  • If you are a graduate, make sure you have set up your graduate Careers Hub account well in advance of the deadline (this is different than your student account) as this can take a bit of time – we cannot accept applications that have been submitted any other way but through Careers Hub, or applications that have been submitted after the deadline
  • All answers must be copied and pasted into the Careers Hub form to be accepted.  Do not email us the downloaded word document.
  • Please submit your application at least 1 hour before the deadline to avoid any technical issues.

 

DEADLINE:

11:59PM (GMT) 7 December 2025

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