Business Start-Up Boot Camps

Make A Difference

Close-up of the Waterfront Building

Summer Start-up Bootcamp

The Summer Start-Up Bootcamp 2026 is an intensive program designed to empower students, graduates, and aspiring entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to develop, validate, and pitch their business ideas across various industries.

A total seed funding of £10,000 to be allocated specifically as non-equity grants to support the most promising ventures. 
The Bootcamp will run from Thursday 28 May to 7 July, featuring workshops every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 4pm, and will commence with a launch event. The program will culminate in a "Dragon’s Den"-style pitch event, where participants will have the opportunity to secure grant funding to advance their business idea.
All courses, all industries/ sectors and all levels of learning are welcome to join*. 
Please note: This is exclusively for University of Suffolk students, as well as the alumni community of University of Suffolk.

Please note: This is exclusively for University of Suffolk students, as well as the alumni community of University of Suffolk. *Visa restrictions apply.

Schedule

  • Launch Event: Thursday, 28 May 2025 | 4.30pm – 7.00pm 
  • Workshops: Every Tuesday & Thursday (From June 2 to July 2 2025) | 10.00am – 4.00pm
  • Final Pitch Event: Thursday, 7 July | 4.00pm – 7.00pm 

SIGN UP TO THE SUMMER START-UP BOOTCAMP HERE

 

Session Outlines 

Date and Time

Location

Session Theme  

Thursday 28 May 2026

4.30pm – 7.00pm

A0.08, The Atrium

Launch Event  

Tuesday 2 June 2025

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.09, The Atrium

Idea Generation and Validation 

Thursday 4 June 2026

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.09, The Atrium

Business Planning Fundamentals 

Tuesday 9 June 2026

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.05, The Atrium

Social Enterprise and Impact Business 

 

Thursday 15 June 2025

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.10, The Atrium

Marketing, Branding and Digital Strategy 

Tuesday 16 June 2026

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.09, The Atrium

Using AI to Power Your Start-Up 

Thursday 18 June 2026

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.09, The Atrium

Funding and Financing Your Start-Up 

Tuesday 23 June 20256

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.05, The Atrium

Intellectual Property and Legal Essentials 

Thursday 25 June 2025

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.10, The Atrium

The Psychology of Business.

HR, Leadership and Team Building 

Tuesday 30 June 2026

10.00am – 4.00pm 

A1.10, The Atrium

Pitching Masterclass: Perfecting Your Pitch 

Tuesday 7 July 2026

4.00pm – 7.30pm 

A0.08, The Atrium

The Live Pitch Event 

 

“Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose. Social enterprises demonstrate a better way to do business, one that prioritises benefit to people and planet and uses the majority of any profit to further their mission. Social enterprises contribute to reducing economic inequality, improving social justice and to environmental sustainability"

SocialEnterprise.org, 2022

Bootcamp Success

Following the success of the Winter Express Start-Up Bootcamp for Suffolk students and the local community, we ended term with a celebratory showcase event that praised and promoted the local enterprise and entrepreneurship eco-system in Suffolk. Bringing together new and established businesses from current students, alumni and local influencers, this event was a buzz of positivity, opportunity and community, highlighting the thriving world of enterprise in Ipswich. Raising the profile of extra-curricular support for students curious about enterprise, the success of this event has already led to increased interest and participation base for the 2024 enterprise and entrepreneurship programme.

People standing at their stall at the winter bootcamp entrepreneur fair 2023