Support for students
Student? Welcome to LU Innovation!
Are you interested in entrepreneurship and innovation? At Lund University, we offer support every step of the way – from brainstorming an idea to securing funding – completely free of charge.
You don’t need a fully formed concept or a clear plan to get in touch. It’s easy to get started:
- Do you have an idea? Book a meeting and receive personalised coaching from our experienced innovation developers.
- Don’t have an idea of your own? Come along to one of our events, where you can meet other creative people and gain new perspectives.
Keep an eye out for our programmes and calls for proposals – we offer several opportunities throughout the year.
From idea to reality
The innovation process
Get tailored support to match your unique innovation journey. Here's the process at a glance.
1. Explore
2. Verify
3. Realise
Our services
Here's an overview of what we can help with! All our support is free of charge.
Support, coaching and programs
Many students have ideas they’d like to see make a difference in society, but don’t know how to go about it. We’ll help you navigate your unique journey.
- Personalised innovation coaching – one-to-one sessions to discuss your idea and your next steps
- Events – regular events to provide inspiration and support for your idea. Follow us on Instagram or check the events calendar further down the page.
- Our programmes: INSIGHTS – for those who want to explore the potential of their idea (Master’s students), VALIDATE – test and verify the conditions, ELEVATE – take the next step towards setting up a company; LEAPFROGS – our summer accelerator programme
- Networking and mentors – experienced entrepreneurs and industry contacts in your field
- Incubator – office space and a community for projects ready to grow. We organise events here so you can gain insights into skills such as bookkeeping, marketing and how to build a business.
Financing & legal advice
Funding is usually crucial for an idea to reach a wider audience. At LU Innovation, we can help you find the right funding and strengthen your application – we also have our own test funds, for example for market research or prototyping. Examples of funding that our projects often apply for:
- Test funds (LU Innovation) – up to 20,000 SEK
- The Leapfrogs grant – 40,000 SEK to work full time on your project over the summer
- Competitions – we organise competitions that give you the chance to win grants, such as the Future Innovations Award and Startup Showdown
- Support with applying for external funding – e.g. Vinnova’s Innovative Startups programme
- Help finding investors – you can get help attending events where many investors gather, such as TechArena in Stockholm and TechBBQ in Copenhagen. We also work closely with the ConnectSyd investor network.
- Legal advice: In some cases, it may be worthwhile to seek clarification on issues relating to patentability and ownership. Our patent and legal advisers can support you throughout the process
Your idea could be the future
We’ll help you get started – no matter where you’re coming from
Energimust
A fan for a better workout
Sand battery for solar storage
Get started today!
You don't need a finished concept or know exactly what you need help with — we'll help you figure out the next step.
Have a conversation with a coach!
When booking a meeting with a coach at LU Innovation, you’ll receive personalised guidance from someone with experience of taking ideas forward.
Book a meetingUpcoming events, programmes & calls
Calendar
INSIGHTS – Explore innovation
Researcher, doctoral or master's student? Join us for a set of four breakfast seminars to explore innovation, starting October 8th.
Frequently Asked Questions
We can help you develop your business idea – we’ll guide your project forward with idea and innovation development, financial support and expert advice on contracts and how to protect your idea.
You don’t need to have got very far at all – sometimes an idea is just a vague thought about a solution to a need you see in the world. If you don’t have an idea of your own, you can attend inspiring events where you’ll meet other creative people and gain new perspectives, or keep an eye out for events and programmes that can give you a starting point.
This support is available to students at Lund University from all faculties who wish to develop a business or innovation idea, and LU Innovation is here to support you as a student at Lund University. Some forms of support administered by LU Innovation, such as Leapfrogs funding, are open to applicants from other universities and higher education institutions in Skåne and Blekinge.
There are several different funding options depending on where you are in your process. LU Innovation offers its own pilot grants (up to 20,000 SEK) for things such as market research or prototyping, and the Leapfrogs grant provides you with 40,000 SEK (equivalent to CSN funding) to work on your project full-time during the summer. In addition, we’ll help you apply for other, larger grants to validate your idea. For example, Vinnova’s ‘Verification for Growth’ scheme (up to 300,000 SEK), or finding investors. You can also win grants through our competitions and those organised by other organisations, such as the Future Innovations Award and Startup Showdown.
Ideally, you should be a student when you start developing your project, but you can get in touch up to one year after you have graduated, and you can receive financial support for up to one year after graduating.
Develop your project together with others!
At the LU Innovations incubator, students and recent graduates can develop their ideas.
Here, they are offered a free workspace, a development programme and the chance to network with other entrepreneurs.
With support from
Our student activities are supported by the City of Lund and Region Skåne. Together, we work to develop the entrepreneurs of tomorrow in the region of Skåne.
Stay up to date
Keep track of our events, programmes and opportunities easily by following us on Instagram!
Follow us on instagram