Sustainable Entrepreneurship Grant

Spring 2026 application period is 16.3.-12.4.2026!

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 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.
• 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. 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 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 5000 €, 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.

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.

In autumn 2025, the foundation’s board removed the requirements about the team’s establishment date (maximum one year before applying) and the additional bonus. The Support Foundation may still, award extra grants in the future to especially successful student companies.

The Board of the TAMK Support Foundation will review the grant applications in its meeting on April 27, 2026, after which the Foundation’s coordinator will inform the applicants of the decision in week 18. The grants will be paid to the recipients no later than April-June 2026, unless they are awarded conditionally.

Spring 2026 application period is 16.3.-12.4.2026!

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 in early May, after which applicants are informed of the decisions.

Spring 2026 application period is 16.3.-12.4.2026!
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 in early June, after which applicants are informed of the decisions.