The University's Ideas with Impact Awards have opened applications for 2026. Made possible by donors to our Challenge Accepted campaign, the awards will provide prizes of up to £100,000 to entrepreneurial students, staff and recent alumni, enabling Manchester's best founders to turn their early-stage ideas into real ventures.
The awards support entrepreneurs with solutions to the world's most pressing issues. Ideas with Impact is open to applications from innovators across all disciplines - from engineering to health, and policy to creative.
Through generous donor support there is a total of £300,000 in prize funding available, and individual awards of £100,000, £75,000 and £50,000 will be given to winners, who will also receive support from experienced mentors to build their networks and accelerate impact.
This year's competition follows the success of 2025's winning ventures that spanned health and life sciences, medical diagnostics, industrial biotechnology, and agri‑tech, reflecting the breadth of Manchester's research strengths and its focus on real‑world impact. From novel treatments for endometriosis and rapid, field‑based heart attack diagnostics, to sustainable metal extraction technologies and early warning systems for crop disease, the winners demonstrated how academic insight can be translated into solutions addressing major societal, environmental and economic challenges.
The team behind LanthaGen Bio, who received £75,000 in 2025, highlighted their progress.
Application timeline
The awards are run in partnership with the University of Manchester Innovation Factory, the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and Unit M. The window for applications is open now until 22 May 2026. Any students, colleagues or alumni (within three years) from across the University are welcome to apply if they are working on solutions to global challenges, and must be at an early stage in their entrepreneurial journey.
To find out more and apply, visit the Ideas with Impact Awards website.
- 22nd April - applications open
- 22nd May - applications close
- 2nd July - final pitching competition and Ideas with Impact Awards event
Philanthropic support
Innovation is at the heart of the University's Challenge Accepted campaign, fuelling our ambition to become Europe's most inclusive and impactful innovation network, and helping deliver progress that changes lives.
Are you interested in supporting brilliant future founders and ensuring entrepreneurship for all? We'd love to explore opportunities with you.
