Ideate

About

A joint KTH Innovation and SSE Business Lab program in which current students and recent graduates of KTH, SSE, KI and GIH form teams, validate problems and develop early-stage business ideas through five workshops, guest lectures, coaching and a pitch session judged by an expert jury.

Benefits

• 🎓Business Development Workshops
  Guaranteed: Five workshops covering early-stage business development, including team building, minimum viable product (MVP) creation, problem-solution fit, competitive landscape analysis, and pitch deck development
• 🤝Guest Lectures and Mentorship
  Guaranteed: Guest lectures featuring invited entrepreneurs and mentors
• 🎤Pitch Competition
  Guaranteed: A pitch session with feedback from an expert jury
• 🧭Business Coaching
  Guaranteed: Business coaching from both KTH Innovation and SSE Business Lab
• 👥Team Formation and Idea Development
  Guaranteed: The opportunity to form a team and develop a business idea with students from the four partner institutions
• 💰Pitch Competition Cash Prize
  Conditional: A cash prize for the pitch competition winner, supported by Grosshandelssocieteten and Stockholms Borgerskaps Lilla & Stora Gross; the prize amount is not stated
• 🚀Continued Startup Support
  Conditional: Continued support from KTH Innovation and/or SSE Business Lab after the programme for teams wishing to continue developing their ideas

Eligibility Criteria

• 🎓 Institutional Eligibility
• Mandatory: Applicants must be current students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Karolinska Institutet (KI), or the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), or recent graduates of these institutions; the KTH page specifies recent graduates from spring 2026
• 📝 Individual Application
• Mandatory: Applications must be submitted by individuals, and admission is assessed on an individual basis
• 💡 Existing Idea or Team
• Preferred but not required: Applicants may apply with a problem they would like to solve, but an existing business idea or team is not required; applicants without an idea or team are explicitly welcome

Participation Commitments

• In-person attendance at weekly sessions alternating between SSE Business Lab's and KTH Innovation's premises in Stockholm
• Weekly sessions last 90–120 minutes
• Participants are expected to spend approximately 5–10 hours per week working on their idea outside the sessions
• Missing two or more workshops is discouraged: applicants who already know they will miss two or more workshops are advised to join a later Ideate round.

Target Sector

Agriculture & Food, Defense & Security, Education, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Government & Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate & Construction, Retail & Consumer, Semiconductors & Electronics, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Transportation & Logistics, Travel & Hospitality, Other

Target Location

Sweden (Stockholm). Eligibility is tied to enrolment or graduation rather than nationality: applicants must be current students or recent graduates of KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Karolinska Institutet (KI) or the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH). No nationality or country-of-residence requirement is stated; sessions are held in person in Stockholm.