According to the 2020 report by Social Innovation Monitor, there were a total of 274 incubators and accelerators in the UK, of which 80 were university incubators.

At first glance, one might expect that the majority of this type of innovative provision is located in the largest universities in the UK, those with a STEM focus or highly research active. But a closer look shows there are numerous incubators and accelerator programmes operating within a diverse range of higher education institutions, including GuildHE members whose focus is often vocational and technical higher education.
 

Why are incubator and accelerator programmes important, and is there a difference? 

Incubators and accelerators at HEIs provide support at different stages of business development and whilst each institution’s programme is unique, a number of aspects are common. Incubators usually enable entrepreneurs and freelancers to nurture ideas and convert them into fully functional business models. Accelerators address a later stage of business development, helping established startups scale quickly. 

Next, we shine a spotlight on some of the incubator and accelerator activities of our members, from the established to the new, from the specialist to the wider ranging.

Arts University Plymouth: Workroom

Arts University Plymouth’s Workroom is a business incubation programme designed for new and emerging creative industry start-ups and creative businesses with a focus on collaboration and innovation. The programme itself is an Arts University Plymouth Knowledge Exchange activity supported by Research England’s Knowledge Exchange Funding for Smaller Providers and featured recently in the lauded GuildHE report ‘The Value of Creative Graduates’.

For a fee of just £100 per month, graduates receive a package of alumni support, talks, seminars and mentoring from industry and enterprise specialists, plus hot-desking spaces and bookable access to workshops, studios and specialist equipment within Arts University Plymouth. The scheme is open to alumni graduates and are in the early stages of developing a creative business or career.

We’re thrilled to be able to offer our graduates another route to establish their creative business start-ups within the city of Plymouth, giving our best and brightest students another reason to stay in the South West and contribute to our local community and economy.

Professor Stephen Felmingham, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Arts University Plymouth

Birmingham Newman University: e.school Start-up Incubator 

Birmingham Newman University students can access funding and business consultancy from academic professionals and industry experts as they look to launch their first businesses. The university partners with organisations to take them to the next level in a supported environment, providing in-house training and guidance, access to workspace, and ongoing business mentoring.

A case study by BNU explored how a final year student secured a business start-up grant and support from the Enterprise Team to set himself up as a digital marketing consultant. The team arranged high quality and industry-relevant work experience placements helping him to sharpen his pitching skills and road-test his business idea. The experience proved the key to helping him launch his business. The business has continued to flourish over a number of years as a Design and Media consultancy specialising in the automotive industry.

Royal Agricultural College: Farm491

Farm491 is a leading UK based innovation space focused on the future of farming and food systems. Based at the Royal Agricultural University, Farm491 supports AgriTech and AgriFood entrepreneurs as they advance their business with potential for impact in the agricultural sector.

Supporting companies via a range of sliding scale memberships, Farm491 provides access to a network of mentors, investors, service providers and farmers, as well as active in-house support to help businesses find the root cause of any hurdles, and establish a plan of action in order to increase the probability of success.

A superb example of the successful Farm491 approach is the Agritech and robotics company, Muddy Machines, who are on a mission to drive the agriculture industry towards zero emissions with its battery-powered field robots. Founded in 2020 with a vision to solve labour issues in farming sustainably, Muddy Machines have already been the recipient of a number of impressive awards like the gold award for Agri-Tech Innovator of the year in 2022 and were named ‘Startup of the Year’ at the West London Business Awards. Innovate UK and DEFRA have supported the company with four different research grants. Within just two years, the company has managed to secure over £2.5m in funding and built a robot asparagus harvester that has been commercially tested.

Falmouth University: Launchpad Futures

Originally conceived in 2013 and then part funded by Research England and Cornwall Council, LaunchPad Futures – the new iteration of the programme funded by the UK’s Shared Prosperity Fund – drives the growth of existing business to build the regional, national and international economy through the use of the university's expertise and facilities. 

A notable success is tech company Codices Interactive, who were established as part of Launchpad in 2017 and develop tools for online broadcasters to easily make, manage and monetise live interactive gameshows. The startup has wowed streaming giants and entertainment platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and the English Premier League with its live streaming and interactive entertainment tool, Quiz Kit which currently has 4 million active users. Codices have raised a total of £1.4m, won numerous awards for their innovative technology and by February 2022 saw their value increase to £8.7m.