Innovation Hothouse Competition returns for 2024

By: Communications

2023 Innovation Hothouse winners, finalists, judges, speakers and guests

Do you have research that has the potential to break new ground, create an impact and set up a product or service?
Are you an early-stage startup already wanting to gain prominence and investment and need a mentor?
Do you want to have access to angel investors, VCs, legal advisors, multi-national companies, and those who have connections to these groups of people?

If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes', then this is your sign to enter the 2024 Innovation Hothouse Competition!

The competition, held on Tuesday 26 November at the John Innes Conference Centre, will see selected finalists deliver a quick-fire 5-minute pitch to showcase their innovative research ideas, products or services to fellow researchers, investors, grant funders and multinational companies from across the region.

The winner and two runner ups will receive cash prizes of £500, £250 and £150 respectively, awarded by the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence and UEA's Science Faculty. All finalists will also receive £100 cash each, kindly donated by UEA alumnus and former director of the John Innes Centre, Richard Flavell.

The panel of distinguished judges will include Simon Blakey (Playfair Capital), Emmi Nicholl (Cambridge Angels), Dr Jerry Wu (TusPark UK), Dr Jason Mellad (Start Codon) and Christina O'Brien (Mills & Reeve), plus Roz Bird (CEO of Anglia Innovation Partnership which runs Norwich Research Park) and Prof Sheng Qi (Associate Dean of Innovation for UEA’s Science Faculty).

Additional benefits

Alongside networking opportunities with a range of influential people from across the region, all finalists will receive a package of additional benefits including:

Mentoring from Dr Soraya Jones (Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence) to help them prepare their pitch
Investment readiness workshop delivered by experts from the Mills and Reeve team and a 15-minute individual session with a legal expert
Presence at Cambridge Tech Week 2025

Competition eligibility

The competition is open to:

Undergraduate and PGR students
Research or Technical Staff

Early career researchers
Academic spin-out/early-stage start-ups

Previous winners and finalists from 2023 cannot reapply. However, if you applied last year but were not selected as a finalist, you may reapply.

This is a UEA-run competition that is open to entrants from across Norwich Research Park, including those within Park-based businesses. However, applications must include at least one UEA collaborator, and applications from UEA Science Faculty are strongly encouraged.

Entries, via the application form, close on Monday 15 July at 5pm.

For any queries, please email: soraya.jones@uea.ac.uk. Good luck!

Image: Dr Soraya Jones, Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence for Science Faculty (front row, second from left) with the finalists in the 2023 Innovation Hothouse Competition.

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