Instituto Superior Técnico, NOVA School of Business & Economics and Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics are joining the Unicorn Factory Lisboa for the first time in the new edition of the Future Innovators Program, which aims to train university students to develop projects in the area of entrepreneurship. Lasting nine months, the initiative is divided into three phases.
The first phase, the Digital Academy, kicked off on 12 March and is open to students from different backgrounds and nationalities. For three months, participants will have access to an online platform with content on entrepreneurship, including classes given by partner universities, case studies and testimonies from entrepreneurs and investors.
‘Técnico was invited to participate in the Future Innovators Program, together with the Hudson Lab Ventures, Universidade Católica, Nova SBE and the London School of Economics. These entities provide free content and faculty members, who record the modules for an entrepreneurship course available to participants in the program’, explains the Técnico professor Luís Caldas de Oliveira.
The course follows the model applied in Técnico’s entrepreneurship curricular units, allowing students to follow the path from the initial idea to the creation of a business model. ‘Técnico was responsible for the modules that validate the hypotheses underlying the business model, with the aim of reducing the risk of developing a product or service that lacks a market. The Lean Startup methodology follows the principles of the scientific method, where hypotheses are tested through experiments specifically designed for this purpose’, he adds.
The second phase of the programme, starting in April, will consist of challenges for participants to develop and present technological solutions to real problems in the business world. This stage includes two hackathons, to be held in Lisbon and Porto, in which the teams will have approximately 24 hours to build a tech prototype.
The most promising projects will advance to the acceleration program, where they will receive mentoring and specialised support. The winner will gain access to the national phase of the Hult Prize, an international social entrepreneurship competition held in more than 120 countries, which awards a prize of one million euros to the best university start-up.
‘The collaboration between these renowned institutions is the result of Fábrica de Unicórnios’ ambition to foster innovation through youth entrepreneurship. In 2024, the Future Innovators Programme impacted more than 1,200 students and helped create more than 100 innovative projects and ideas. This year we aim to triple the number of students impacted’, says Gil Azevedo, executive director of Unicorn Factory Lisboa.
Unicorn Factory Lisboa was created in 2022 by the Lisbon City Council, aiming to boost the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, connecting entrepreneurs to growth opportunities in the national and international markets.
