Sustainable Entrepreneurship Grant

Autumn 2026 application period is 24.8.-18.9.2026!

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 2000 to 5000€ and are paid to individuals, not to companies or cooperatives. In the application, clearly specify which part of the grant you would use for each action/measure (e.g. 1000€ for marketing, 1000€ for prototyping).

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.

Grant criteria

• The grant is intended to support activities and learning during studies.
• The grant can only be disbursed to those who hold a valid student status. If the granted grant is applied for after the student status has expired, the grant cannot be paid.
• The team has a business plan which aims at growth through sustainable development.
• A maximum of 500 € from the granted grant may be used for equipment and supply purchases, and a maximum of 500 € for social media advertising..
• Annual turnover must not exceed 30 000 €.
• The entrepreneurial activities must also support applicants’ studies and graduation.
• The team should have diverse expertise and competence in using networks.
• The team commits to sharing the lessons learned from their experiments and development work with the higher education community. Going forward, the student or student group is responsible for producing a publication related to the grant project. During the year, the most interesting and representative stories of the activities will be highlighted on the intranet.
• 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 being awarded a grant, the team has to send a final report to the foundation describing what the grant was used for and what was achieved with the grant. Receipts verifying the use of the grant must be attached to the final report.
• If the Foundation grants the maximum amount of the sustainable entrepreneurship grant, between 4000- 5000 €, it will be paid to the grantee/recipients in two parts. In this case, an interim report along with receipts must be submitted to account for the use of the first installment. The report must be completed once the entire first installment (e.g., 2,500 €) has been used. Only after the Foundation’s board has approved the interim report will the second half of the grant be paid to the recipient(s).
• The grant must be used for the purposes specified in the grant application.

In your application, please also describe how your idea or business takes into account different aspects of sustainability. In addition, specify how and for what purposes you plan to use the grant.

If you are applying for a grant, you may request a recommendation from a person who is familiar with your idea or project. They will receive a message from the grant application system. Please make sure that the evaluator is informed about the request well in advance.

The Board of the TAMK Support Foundation will review the grant applications in its meeting, after which the Foundation’s coordinator will inform the applicants of the decision.

Next application period will be in spring 2027.

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. In the application, clearly specify which part of the grant you would use for each action/measure (e.g. 1000 € for marketing, 1000 € for prototyping).

Grant criteria

• You have/ your team has a business plan with sustainable growth targets.
• The planned entrepreneurial actions support your studies and graduation.
• A business ID 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.

The board of the Industrial Research Fund at Tampere University of Technology decides on the granting at its meeting, after which applicants are informed of the decisions.

Next application period will be in spring 2027.
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. In the application, clearly specify which part of the grant you would use for each action/measure (e.g. 1000 € for marketing, 1000 € for prototyping).

Grant criteria

• You have/ your team has a business plan with sustainable growth targets.
• The planned entrepreneurial actions support your studies and graduation.
• A business ID 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.

The board of the University of Tampere Foundation decides on the granting at its meeting, after which applicants are informed of the decisions.