Sustainable Entrepreneurship Grant

The application period for Tampere University of Applied Sciences students for spring 2025 has ended. Thank you for your applications!

The Sustainable Entrepreneurship Grant is designed to support studies and entrepreneurial activities focused on sustainability during your academic journey. Eligible applicants include TAMK students and student teams who have developed a business idea during their studies and wish to conduct practical experiments and development work to further refine the idea. A student team may also include university students, students from other universities of applied sciences, or company representatives, but the Support Foundation can only grant funds to the TAMK students in the group, in accordance with foundation law.

The grant amounts range from €2,000 to €5,000 and are paid to individuals, not to companies or cooperatives. The grant can be used for purchases already made, as long as the purchase was made within one year prior to the application. The foundation’s board has allocated €105,000 annually for these grants.

The grant application period occurs twice a year, in March-April and August-September.

Support and Sparring for Your Grant Application

Join our pop-up sparring session on Wednesday, 19.3., from 12:00 to 14:00 at TAMK’s Flow space (C1-12).
Do you have questions about the grant application or the process, or do you need support in clarifying the sustainability aspect of your idea? Drop in at any time to spar with us. We’ll also have concise info sessions about the application process at 12:15 and 13:15.

Grant criteria

• The grant can only be awarded to those who hold a valid student status. If the grant is requested after the end of the student’s rights, it cannot be paid out.
• The team must have a business plan aimed at sustainable growth.
• New criteria! A maximum of 500€ from the grant can be used for equipment and materials.
• Annual turnover must not exceed 30,000€.
• The entrepreneurial activities must also support the applicants’ studies and the completion of their degree.
• The team should have diverse expertise and skills in leveraging networks.
• The team commits to sharing the lessons learned from their experiments and development work with the higher education community.
• The team must have been established no more than a year before applying for the grant.
• Additionally, to qualify for funding, a publication must be made on our internal platform via TAMK’s communication services. We also hope for your support in increasing the visibility of the Support Foundation across various channels. If you give newspaper interviews and/or participate in media and/or events, please highlight the Support Foundation.
• After receiving the grant, the team must submit a comprehensive final report to the Support Foundation. The report should detail how the grant was used or what was achieved with it. The final report must include receipts to verify the use of the grant.
• If the Support Foundation grants the maximum amount of 5,000€, it will be paid out in installments. In such cases, an interim report with receipts must be submitted detailing the use of the grant so far. The next installment will only be paid after the foundation’s board has approved the interim report.
• The grant must be used for the purposes stated in the grant application.

Additional bonus

If the grant recipient(s) secure an equivalent amount of their own funds, the Support Foundation may award an additional bonus. These personal funds must come from external financiers, excluding bank loans, personal loans, or ELY Center supports. Proof of this additional funding must be provided via bank transfer receipts. A separate report must be submitted to the Support Foundation regarding the source of the additional funding, especially if it comes from a close associate of the recipient(s). The report should also explain how the additional support from the financier was used.

• The additional bonus can only be applied for after the original grant has been used and reported to the Support Foundation. The bonus can only be disbursed to those who hold a valid student status. If the bonus is requested after the end of the student’s rights, it cannot be paid out.
• The additional funding must be secured after the grant is awarded. Previously acquired funding is not eligible.
• To apply for the additional bonus, please contact the foundation’s representative, Johanna Niemonen.

Application period for this grant is 10.3.-13.4.2025!

Tampere University support foundations distribute an annual grant to support studies and sustainable entrepreneurial activities practiced during studies. The grant distributed by the Industrial Research Fund at Tampere University of Technology (TTY support foundation) is intended for students studying towards a degree in engineering or architecture, as well as doctoral students in the field. For other study fields, see TAU support foundation below.

The grant amount is between 1000-5000€. The grant can also be awarded in a smaller amount than applied for.

Support and sparring for the application process at Hervanta or City Centre campus

Pop-up sparring sessions:
– Thursday, 3.4., from 14:00 to 16:00 at the HUBS space in the Main Building of the Hervanta campus (Language Center, 2nd floor)
– Friday, 4.4., from 9:00 to 11:00 at the HUBS space on the city center campus (Main Building, A0 corridor)
Do you have questions about the grant application, or do you need support in the application process and clarifying the sustainability aspect? Drop in at any time to spar with us. Short info sessions on the entire application process will be held at a quarter past every hour.

Grant criteria

• You have/ your team has a business plan with sustainable growth targets.
• The planned entrepreneurial actions support your studies and graduation.
• You may have a businessID, but it is not necessary. 
• The turnover must not exceed 30,000 €/year.
• You / your team commits to sharing the lessons of the experiments and development work with the higher education community.
• The grant recipient/team produces a story that is published in the appropriate communication channels of Tampere Universities.
• The person/team that received the grant will produce a final report once the planned experiment has been completed.
• We value entrepreneurial skills acquired through studies or hands-on experience in similar activities.

Application period for this grant is 10.3.-13.4.2025!

The Tampere University Foundations distribute an annual grant to support studies and sustainable entrepreneurship practices during studies. The grant provided by the University of Tampere Foundation is intended for students pursuing a degree or postgraduate studies in the following fields within the scope of the foundation’s activities:

• disciplines at the Faculty of Social Sciences: health sciences, history, literary studies, logopedics, philosophy, psychology, social research, public health and epidemiology 
• computer science, information studies, languages, media and communications, and performing arts 
• education studies 
• medicine and life sciences 
• administrative and business studies, political science 
• This Foundation does not support the fields of engineering and architecture. 

Excluding students studying towards a master’s degree in engineering or architecture, which are included in TTY support foundation (see above).

The grant amount is between 1000-5000€. The grant may also be awarded in a smaller amount than applied for.

Support and sparring for the application process at City Centre or Hervanta Campus

Pop-up sparring sessions:
– Thursday, 3.4., from 14:00 to 16:00 at the HUBS space in the Main Building of the Hervanta campus (Language Center, 2nd floor)
– Friday, 4.4., from 9:00 to 11:00 at the HUBS space on the city center campus (Main Building, A0 corridor)
Do you have questions about the grant application, or do you need support in the application process and clarifying the sustainability aspect? Drop in at any time to spar with us. Short info sessions on the entire application process will be held at a quarter past every hour.

Grant criteria

• You have/ your team has a business plan with sustainable growth targets.
• The planned entrepreneurial actions support your studies and graduation.
• You may have a businessID, but it is not necessary. 
• The turnover must not exceed 30,000 €/year.
• You / your team commits to sharing the lessons of the experiments and development work with the higher education community.
• The grant recipient/team produces a story that is published in the appropriate communication channels of Tampere Universities.
• The person/team that received the grant will produce a final report once the planned experiment has been completed.
• We value entrepreneurial skills acquired through studies or hands-on experience in similar activities.