ICURe Discover — Helix Way
Eight weeks part-time and up to £2,500 to find out who your research is really for. Open to every UK university.
What it is
An eight-week part-time online programme applying the scientific method to a business idea — hypothesise, test, evaluate. You get up to £2,500 to fund market and customer discovery, an introduction to the Strategyzer Business Model Canvas and Value Propositions, and trainer and mentor feedback on where to take it next. Past participants describe having dedicated time to think about what commercialisation means as the thing that shifts their perspective on their own research.
Run by Innovate UK, delivered by Midlands Innovation. We're listing it because eligibility is all UK universities despite the delivery partner's name, the deadline is three days later than the parallel cohort, and Discover is now the compulsory route into ICURe Explore. Applications are particularly welcomed from institutions new to ICURe and from under-represented groups.
Key dates
- 17 September 2026 — applications close, 11.59pm
- 8 October 2026 — welcome call, 1.5 hours
- 19–20 October 2026 — online bootcamp, two days
- 26 November 2026 — pitch training
- 30 November 2026 — practice pitch
- 8 December 2026 — Options Roundabout
Before you apply
You'll need Oxford University Innovation and your Principal Investigator on board. You're expected at every session above — hold the dates before you apply. Places are limited.
Details
| Deadline | 11.59pm, Thursday 17 September 2026 |
| Prize | Up to £2,500 for market discovery activities |
| Cost | Free to take part |
| Format | Online, eight weeks part-time |
| Who it's for | Researchers and technicians at UK universities and approved public sector research establishments. Any discipline. |
| What you get | Funded market and customer discovery, Strategyzer Business Model Canvas and Value Propositions training, trainer and mentor feedback with next-steps guidance. |
| What it leads to | Completing Discover is the compulsory route into ICURe Explore, worth up to £35,000. |
| Organiser | Innovate UK, delivered by Midlands Innovation · icure@warwick.ac.uk |
Apply
Up to £2,500, eight weeks, part-time.
Applications close 11.59pm on Thursday 17 September.
Read the key dates and apply
