Incubation at the E-Lab

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At the E-Lab, we support high-impact venture creation through tailored incubation with experts and mentors from across and beyond the Cambridge Innovation Ecosystem.

We incubate the world’s next high-impact ventures

  • Iterate with Experts

    Through founders’ stories, expert facilitation, and interactive workshops, you’ll have the opportunity to dive deeper into the world of entrepreneurship to discover what inspires and interests you and how much exists to be learnt. Whether you’re just curious, ready to build, or itching to scale, we have something to help you on your way.

  • Become Investment Ready

    Across our programmes, you’ll learn to articulate your ideas and visions with confidence and skill to different stakeholders. The art of communication is one that requires continuous practice and we ensure ample opportunity to practice your pitching with peers, mentors and investors.

  • Experiment with Innovators

    Trial and error sits at the centre of any entrepreneurial journey and during our residentials, you’ll be given the space to experiment, play, and build. Put your ideas to the test, learn to be comfortable with getting it wrong, and hone the ability to adapt with speed.

  • Examine Your Assumptions

    Reflection is the moment when you step back to gain the advantage of a bigger picture, considering how your approach fits into a wider system. Throughout all our residentials, you’ll be encouraged not only to be proactive, but also to consistently think deeply about your own and others’ ideas - learning from what works, and from what doesn’t.

  • Build Your Network

    The commitment to learning must be paired with the ability to have a little fun, and on all of our residentials, the activities are designed to support not only serious skills development but the joy of building with others from across and beyond the Cambridge ecosystem.

CHECK OUT OUR CURRENT INCUBATORS

SPARK

  • "The E-Lab created a space where it was safe to fail, laugh, and grow. I came unsure of my ideas; I left inspired to act, guided by the essons of history, the wisdom of my peers an he experiences from throughout the week."

    Maryam Bham, PhD Education, Lucy Cavendish

  • "Personally, I've valued the opportunity to share my experience and the chance to meet young energetic members of E-Lab to brainstorm new ideas and identify challenging opportunities. It provides a most welcoming environment and an opportunity to shape up and transform our future."

    Elena Punskaya, Fellow, Christ's College and E-Lab Mentor

  • "What I enjoyed most was the immersive, high-energy atmosphere. Being surrounded 24/7 by passionate, creative people was incredibly motivating. The late-night brainstorming sessions were where some of the most exciting ideas came to life."

    Enoch Alex, PhD in Physiology Development and Neuroscience, Corpus Christi

  • "Because where else can you find genius ideas, free Nespresso coffee, and people who won’t judge you for talking about your work? It’s basically Hogwarts for Academics.?

    Duaa Jamal Karim, PhD Education, Queen’s College

  • "It's a safe space to ask any question, make mistakes, learn and get inspired."

    Mattias Rättzén, PhD Law, King’s College

  • "The (September) programme pushes the students to think big and innovatively. The best part would be the community that the E-lab has and creates; it's a wonderful experience where we can interact with like-minded people who also may have completely different interests from ours. I think what relates all of us is that we want to create something bigger than ourselves for the greater good of humanity."

    Maria Fernanda Torres, MPhil in Obesity, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, King’s College

  • "Not only were all of the speakers informative and engaging but the wide range of topics that were covered have not only broadened my horizons but have allowed me to explore areas of entrepreneurship that I doubt I would have, had it not been for the E-Lab."

    Rohan Gogna, BA Land Economy, St Edmund’s College

  • "Throughout the week I got to understand better the magnitude of the E-Lab. What I love the most is how comprehensive it is: it brings together education, support, networking, mentorship, funding opportunities. I have never seen such a range of things in a single programme."

    Daniel Kraus Vollert, PhD in Social Anthropology, Trinity College

  • "The support from mentors and peers makes the E-Lab feel less like a programme and more like a launchpad."

    Jung Woo Han, MPhil Criminology and Institute of Criminology, Wolfson College

READ MORE FROM OUR RESIDENTIAL STUDENTS

Blog
Reflections from the 2026 Kings E-Lab Social Venture Residential: A Three-Day Journey That Shaped My Thinking
Reflections from the 2026 Kings E-Lab Social Venture Residential: A Three-Day Journey That Shaped My Thinking

The King’s E-Lab Social Venture Residential reinforces a fundamental insight: meaningful progress in entrepreneurship, particularly social entrepreneurship, rarely occurs in isolation. Rather, it emerges through deliberate engagement, critical exchange, and exposure to diverse ways of thinking. In this week’s blog, read this and other learnings from Mendos Fidelis’s as he reflects on the critical tools of entrepreneurial thinking and the ethical responsibility of entrepreneurs.

What Shifted for Me at the King’s E-Lab Social Venture Residential 2026
What Shifted for Me at the King’s E-Lab Social Venture Residential 2026

In the middle of January, the E-Lab hosted its 2026 Social Venture Residential Programme in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme and the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation. Designed to support students of all disciplines in developing sustainable and ethical projects with a positive social and environmental impact, the SVR aims to equip those with a passion for change with key entrepreneurial skills. In this week’s blog, read Mphil student Damilola Oyeyemi’s reflections on the residential and on the mindset shifts it created for her.

Learning to Lead with Courage: From Islamic History to King’s E-Lab
Learning to Lead with Courage: From Islamic History to King’s E-Lab

Each September, the E-Lab hosts a residential week as a part of its core residential programme. In 2025, we welcomed 62 students from across 12 Cambridge Colleges keen to learn how to take their innovative ideas forward. Through workshops, lectures and socials students learnt everything from the basics of finance, marketing and IP to how to creatively communicate their proposals and build meaningful stakeholder maps. In this week’s blog, read PhD student Maryam Bham’s reflections on the women who inspire her understanding of entrepreneurship and on how the week left her with a sharpened mindset and a renewed sense of purpose to build something meaningful.

Building Sustainable Impact: Insights from the King’s Entrepreneurship Lab Social Ventures Programme 2025
Building Sustainable Impact: Insights from the King’s Entrepreneurship Lab Social Ventures Programme 2025

This month the E-Lab hosted its Social Ventures Residential for the second year, bringing together 41 scholars from across the University of Cambridge to engage on the meaning and the purpose of social innovation and entrepreneurship. In collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme and the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation, the residential is an intensive three-day programme designed to equip students with a solid grounding and an array of tools with which to pursue their interest in social ventures. One of the scholars, Maureen Abel, reflects on her experience in this week’s blog.

Crafting Connections: An Art Historian’s Journey into Entrepreneurship
Crafting Connections: An Art Historian’s Journey into Entrepreneurship

In September 2024, the King’s E-Lab welcomed its fourth cohort for its yearly residential programme. The residential week, which included participation from 7 Cambridge Colleges, brought together undergraduates and graduates from a range of disciplines who are eager to explore the potential of entrepreneurship for their endeavours. Jin Chen, 3rd year art historian from Murray Edwards College unpacks her experience of the week, from interdisciplinary insights to creative collaborations.

The E-Lab Residential: Bridging a gap between arts and business
The E-Lab Residential: Bridging a gap between arts and business

In September 2024, the King’s E-Lab welcomed its fourth cohort of residential students for the 2024/5 academic year. The cohort included a mix of graduates and undergraduates from a wide range of academic fields. Eva Lemmy, an English undergraduate, reflects on her experience during the residential week and the potential of programmes like it to bridge important gaps between the arts and business.

Reflections on the E-Lab Social Residential Programme 2024
Reflections on the E-Lab Social Residential Programme 2024

The Social Venture Residential was all about using business smarts to solve real-world problems. It opened my eyes to the potential to create a sustainable cycle of empowerment and health, all through a simple, yet innovative business model and it allowed me to develop my idea for tackling period poverty. For me, it’s more than just a business idea now; it's a mission.

Reflections on the 2023 E-Lab Residential Week
Reflections on the 2023 E-Lab Residential Week

In September 2023, Qinglan Du decided to participate in the E-lab because she’d always been passionate about entrepreneurship. Since elementary school, she had sold rainbow loom bracelets or Taylor Swift merch, and always looked for different ways to start businesses. For her, the residential turned out to be the perfect opportunity to learn about the fundamentals of business, strengthen the foundation she had already established and engage with a wide variety of passionate students, many of whom she now considers friends.