Competitions and Funding

Whether you’re looking to explore new ideas or accelerate the growth of a business venture, Venture Lab has a range of competitions and funding opportunities to help you move forward.

Blueprint Startup Challenge

Do you have a great business idea? Take part in the Blueprint Startup Challenge and win a top prize of £10,000!

The Blueprint Startup Challenge is Durham University’s premier startup competition, providing a launchpad for exceptional student start-up businesses.

By taking part in the competition, you will have the opportunity to:

• Win cash prizes at each stage of the competition
• Access startup workshops and 1:1 coaching sessions delivered by successful entrepreneurs and domain experts
• Become part of a supportive community of aspiring entrepreneurs
• Receive mentoring sessions delivered by members of the Durham University global alumni community (finalists only)

Previous winners have included: 

• 2024: GroundUp – Rhea Dabriwala & Naveen Shivalingam - An end-to-end process that transforms waste into biochar. 
• 2023: Book Health - Alex Keith & Olly Page - Healthcare innovation using a centralised API to allow for digital integration of various clinician factors.
• 2022: Hey! Food is Ready - Yuru Guo & Francesca Docker - An online marketplace which connects approved home cooks from multicultural backgrounds to cater for people looking for authentic, wholesome, homemade food.
• 2021: Anchor Orbital - Yuk Chi Chan, David Dubinsky, Yin Yukun & Ushantha Wanigaratne - Creators of a satellite thruster that allows satellites to orbit closer to the Earth

Cash Prizes

The Blueprint Startup Challenge provides a range of opportunities to receive funding for your new venture including:

The main competition: provides prizes ranging from £1,000 to £10,000

PGR Pitch Award: has a top prize of £5,000

Social Impact Award: win up to £5,000 to grow your social enterprise or project

We are holding Blueprint Discovery Sessions on the following dates:

Tuesday 26th November, 12.30-1.30pm

Tuesday 14th January, 12.30-1.30pm

Tuesday 21st January, 12.30-1.30pm

We will be accepting new applications in January 2025.

Applications for Illuminate PGR Pitch Award and Social Impact Award will open in 2025.

For further information please contact Steve Bowden

The Blueprint Startup Challenge is kindly supported by gifts from Santander Universities UK and Richard King, alumnus of Durham University.