Doctoral Programme for entrepreneurial PhD students!
OPEN Call 2021: 'Pathways to Impact'
We are excited to announce that the Global Food Venture Programme of EIT Food will offer a new course to talented PhD students from across Europe and globally! Join us in November 2021, if you want to:
- learn how to change the world using your research
- get an introduction to technology commercialisation
- dive into EIT Food network of leading academic & industry partners
- bring entrepreneurial skills into your work
- boost your future career
Stay tuned for more information!
Our online learning platform is fully interactive and enables you to engage with our top-notch trainers and mentors. By learning online with us we enable you a much greater flexibility and the comfort to learn at times and from locations that suit you and from your own home or workplace.
By enrolling to our training on 'Pathways to Impact' you will not only have access to GFVP's excellent resources, but also become part of inspiring EIT Food community.
A small portion of the total cost of the training will be charged as a participation fee. Fee entry for 2021 will be 120 EUR.
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course will provide an introduction and starting tools on how to change the world by using your research.
You will be trained by top EIT Food partners coming from higher education institutions like Cambridge University and Aarhus University, whose expertise lies in entrepreneurship, innovation, and commercialisation of academic research.
Throughout the course we will focus on following key topics: Pathways to Impact, Ideation, Entrepreneurs´ Cases, Market scoping, Problem/Solution fit, Commercialization of Innovation, Protect your IP, Business Models, Venture Finance, Evaluate & Communicate your impact, Practice pitching & appreciate feedback.
Throughout the course you will be offered a unique mentoring experience by EIT Food GFVP partners, who will support you with your research commercialisation.
APPLICATION IS NOW OPEN
Closed CALLS 2021: Stage I & Stage II
Global Food Venture Programme Stage I & Stage II welcome their 2021 Cohort! They offer a 6-Month curriculum designed to address the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs and early phase start-up ventures from PhD students. It comprises exciting activities like a 10-day Summer School in Entrepreneurship, 1-week Bootcamp in Business Incubation, International Bootcamp with experts from the famous Silicon Valley and individual Mobility Grants for business meetings with industry partners to validate technology feasibility and value propositions. The programme is divided in two independent stages (Stage I & Stage II), which can be completed in consecutive years or within the same one. The 2021 Stage II edition will conclude with a Final Competition Event, where students pitch their business plan in front of a jury and have the chance to win up to 10K cash Prizes for best start-up project. Participants are supported along this journey with one-on-one Business Coaching to advance start-up ideas and create solid business propositions in food & agtech space.
Global Food Venture Program: Stage I
Summer School
Our Stage I: Idea Development program aims to help Ph.D. students visualize scalable business ventures in the food and agricultural field from their research projects. The 10-day intensive program, will be joined by a 40 PhD student cohort, for a crash course on the idea development process, market & competitor analysis, prototyping, and financing. Participants are expected to apply the knowledge aquired hands-on, by developing a business idea that solves one of our food system's biggest problems. Summer school will culminate in a pitch competition, where best performers will be rewarded with a place in our mentoring programme and Business Incubation Stage II with waived fees!
Summer school will run on full-days with many power breaks, plenty of peer to peer networking and interaction with our guest speakers, food experts, advanced entreprneurs and business coaches! Programme dates May 25 - June 3 with DemoDay on June 4!
Check out Stage I unparalled benefits!
- Global Food Venture Stage I, aims to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit of talented PhD students and help to improve creativity and system innovation skills. Participants will learn about the current challenges in Food & Agriculture and the transformation that is needed to create a sustainable and healthy system.
- In an 10 day Summer School, students will gain essential skills in ideation and business creation, interact with top food & ag experts, educators, business coaches and established start-ups.
- Within groups, participants will develop business ideas that solve identified problems in food and agriculture, and pitch their ideas in a final competition. Top winners will be awarded a place in GFVP 2021 Stage II.
- Alumni of Stage I will have priority to join Global Food Venture Programme Business Incubation (Stage II) in 2022.
Summer School Impressions
Student Testimonials
Organising Partners of Stage I Summer School
Global Food Venture Program: Stage II
Pre-Incubation Bootcamp of Stage II
Our 2021 Business Incubation program will accept up to 25 Ph.D. researchers with a venture idea or early-stage venture project in the agriculture and food field.
The business incubation program kicks off with a pre-incubation Bootcamp, where we help participants sharpen their business model. At the end of the Bootcamp, each individual will be paired with an expert mentor, who will provide business coaching, guidance and access to EIT Food ecosystem in a six-month mentoring programme.
Pre-Incubation Bootcamp Timeline
- 28 - 30 June, Full-day workshops
- 01 - 02 July, Half-day workshops (mornings)
- 07. July, Demo day with start-up pitches and prizes for winners
Check out Stage II unparalled benefits!
- The Global Food Venture Stage II educates aspiring entrepreneurs in the area of business creation though a 6-Month intensive curriculum of two training bootcamps, business coaching, networking events and online resources.
- Participants of Stage II have the unique chance to explore key entrepreneurship ecosystems in Europe and become part of the EIT Food community.
- Throughout the programme students interact with major players in the food & agriculture i.e. EIT Food industry partners, food system technology experts, start-up coaches and investors to get valuable feedback on their business idea
- 6-Month tailored mentoring from an EIT Food partner plus coaching on Finance is additionally offered to all participants eager to get their start-up projects to the next level.
- Best business ideas have the chance to win cash prizes up to 10K and connect to the EIT Food Accelerator Programmes and Seed Funding.
Pre-Incubation Bootcamp Impressions
Organising Partners of Pre-Incubation Bootcamp
Business Immersion Bootcamp of Stage II
Our second Stage II Bootcamp focuses on equipping PhD students with skills & knowledge of building a company: team creation, IP protection, Investor negotiations, international expert insights, funding and financial management. Previous editions were held in San Francisco bay area and Davis California (2019) as well as Haifa, Israel (2018), giving participants a unique chance to immerse themselves in key entrepreneurship ecosystems. Due to COVID19 global pandemic, the Business Immersion Bootcamp will be delivered online.
The bootcamp will kick-off on Sep 27 and will have a duration equivalent to 10 full days, which will delivered in small blocks over a period of 4 weeks till Oct 24. Final agenda will be communicated 2-3 weeks in advance, before programme starts.
Swipe below to have a look on experts and keynote speakers from past editions.
Experts & Keynote Speakers
Entrepreneur First
London based talent investor entrepreneur first pays talented people to find a co-founder and found a company. Growth associate Kity Mayo talks on their form and launch method. GFVP and EF alumni Aditya Nayak shared his post-GFVP journey.
Entrepreneur First
Solveiga Pakštaitė
Solveiga, Mimica’s director, looks back on Mimica’s journey to success and insight into sustainable development goals.
Mimica Lab
Gain Velocity
Gain velocity teaches our PhDs on how to lead companies and grow better.
Gain Velocity
Martin Giese
Martin Giese: head of Xpreneur, business angel, and author, explain the art of negotiation and business models.
Xpreneur
Marco Masia
Marco Masia- Innovation consultant and veteran entrepreneur talks start-up financing.
Enihilo
Invest in Bavaria
Johanna Hebestreit of Invest in Bavaria gave an introduction to Bavaria’s start-up ecosystem.
Invest in Bavaria
Nathan Gold
Communication Expert Nathan Gold leads a workshop on how to bring your pitching skill to the next level.
The Demo Coach
Olaf Biedekarken
Olaf Biedekarken is the head of sensory and consumer science at Döhler- Germany’s leading producer and distributor of natural ingredients, ingredient system, and integrated solution for the food and beverage industry.
Döhler
Benedicte Simons
Marketing manager Benedicte Simons would be introducing the Institute Paul Bocuse Research Center at Lyon.
the Institute Paul Bocuse Research Center
Theo Kanellos and Luke Dalton
Meet Theo Kanellos and Luke Dalton of Zoetis, the animal healthcare provider with a mission to understand better and address the real-world challenges faced by those who raise and care for animals.
Zoetis
Mira Schütze
Mira Schütze will be giving our members a quick introduction to Bavaria’s startup ecosystem and the EIT Food Accelerator Network.
EIT Food
Florian Grigolet & Arnold Bitner
GFVP alumni Florian Grigolet and co-founder Arnold Bitner contemplate on their experience of developing Modelwise’s business development, raising funds, and convincing potential customers.
Modelwise
Rick Kostner
Rick Kostner will be heading a workshop on the art of outstanding leadership.
Rick Kostner
Julie Morris
Catch up on the newest development in California’s Agri-Food innovation scene with Julie Morris, a California-based Food & Agri consultant, and UC Davis lecturer.
UC Davis
Belinda Büchner
Belinda gives a presentation on TUM entrepreneurial culture and founder support
TUM Incubator
Eric Malis
Eric is an Entrepreneur, attorney, investor, professor, and the founder of Talis Partners LP-a legal and strategy consulting firm specializing in serving the startup community. Eric talk on Silicon Valley
entrepreneurial culture
and investment.
Immersion Bootcamp Impressions
Organising Partners of Bootcamp
Student Testimonials Stage II
Final Pitch Event
The final pitching event marks the end of the Stage II journey. On this day, our cohort showcase the business plan they honed over the last five months. A jury panel consisting of food industry experts and representatives from the EIT Food community rewarded 3 of the most innovative business plans with money prizes up to 10K.
Mentoring
Expert mentors from Global Food Venture partners guide you through the six-month journey to validate business ideas and bring your entrepreneurial goal to the next level. Swipe below to see our curated list of quality mentors.
Announcements
Register now for the Webinars 2021
GFVP 2021 live webinar is coming soon on the 15th of April at 4pm
If you belong to Marie Curie Assosiation then join our exclusive Webinar on the 14. of April at 5pm & learn more about the Global Food Venture Programme
Sign Up for the GFVP webinar (Marie Curie)
The GFVP Activity Lead Chryssa Dimaki and fellow Program Manager Mina Mansoor Rankel hosted a live webinar on the 17th of April 2020. Those wondering whether the Global Food Venture Programme was the right fit were welcomed to join and get to know our mission, curriculum, entry criteria, partners, and alumni project. The webinar also featured Dr. Miguel Molina Romero, CTO of AI-based start-up Orbem, who shared his experience with our programme in 2018.
Our Alumni
The Global Food Venture helps researchers from all scientific disciplines to visualize business ideas from their research project and bring existing ventures to the next level. We focus on supporting new companies in disrupting the food and agriculture system- from bioplastic, supply chain to alt-meat. Here are some of our past alumni projects.
2019 Alumni
2018 Alumni
