Accelerate your business idea or start up business with award-winning dedicated support and expert advice. If you’re a growing business, we've got the facilities, equipment, knowledge and talent to help you innovate and accelerate.
Formation Zone – Formation Zone is perfect if you have a business idea you’d like to start and develop in a supportive and collaborative environment.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) – are University managed programmes and part funded by Government. KTP's offer a partnership between your business, an academic institution and a recently qualified graduate. The graduate will work jointly supervised within your business on a specific innovative project and bring in new capabilities to your team.
To assist the university community
during the current economic situation, Santander Universities UK has
invested an additional £25,000 into the University of Plymouth. This grant of approximately £800 is
aimed at helping University of Plymouth students and graduates of
2018 and 2019 (including those undertaking or awarded a University of
Plymouth degree from a partner college) who have a trading business or a
new business on the cusp of trading with a solid business plan and
customer pipeline to overcome barriers to the growth of their business.
Investments will be made which would
If you feel that your business could benefit from this grant, please email formationzone@plymouth.ac.uk for more information.
There are monthly opportunities for students and graduates to access a variety of business start-up support all in one place.
2nd Floor, Marine Building, from 10.00–16.30.
To find out more email formationzone@plymouth.ac.uk
A rolling programme of Ideation Awards throughout the academic year to support early-stage entrepreneurs.
Ideation Awards of £100–£200 are available to students and recent graduates and can be used for services such as:
Quarterly competitive awards to accelerate the growth of early-stage businesses looking to start/scale.
Three competitions – December 2019/March 2020/June 2020. Applications close 30 November/29 February/31 May.
Awards of approximately £1,250 are available to students and recent graduates and can be used for services such as:To request an application form email formationzone@plymouth.ac.uk
Helping you understand the value of social enterprise for social and economic benefit. Share in local, national and international expertise and knowledge, and access best practice and research in social enterprise.
Plymouth is the first University in the world to be recognised as a social enterprise.
"The support we have received in the Formation Zone has allowed us to focus more attention on developing our own unique IP and divert some time and resource to exploring new projects and ideas. They have been able to accommodate our business growth by allowing us to have our own office within Formation Zone. Finding that the University is so keen to support new and developing businesses through its pre-incubation space has been great especially as a start-up business it can often be difficult to find and qualify for assistance."
Alex Riley, Mutant Labs
Find out more about our work with real businesses.
Research and Innovation,
University of Plymouth,
Plymouth Science Park,
9 Research Way,
Derriford,
Plymouth,
PL6 8BT
Email: enterprisesolutions@plymouth.ac.uk
Telephone: 0800 0525600
Lines are open 9:00–17:00 Monday to Thursday 9:00–16:30 Friday
