Application

Ready to Apply?

The BII Early Innovators Grant supports students, recent graduates and PhD students who want to test, develop, and validate promising ideas.
Applications are opened twice yearly and evaluated by an independent review panel.

Application deadline: 16 October, 2026.

Who Can Apply?

To be eligible, at least one member of the team must:

• Be a current Bachelor, Master, or PhD student at the University of Copenhagen, or
• Have graduated from the University of Copenhagen within the past two years

The primary eligible applicant must be the one to complete the application form. You cannot apply on behalf of someone else.

The BII Early Innovators Grant is a grant targeting early domain and solution exploration. It’s for starting something new or exploring a new domain. As a result, this is not a vehicle intended to support registered businesses with significant funding or traction. Applicants who have already successfully fundraised from private or public partners more than 750.000 DKK or equivalent in-kind funding are therefore considered ineligible as are registered businesses with revenues exceeding 125.000 DKK in their most recent fiscal quarter.

The grant is also not intended as an additional support mechanism for primary research projects, translational or otherwise. PhDs may apply for the Early Innovators Grant for new projects where the focus or exploration is separate from that of their primary research focus and that of the lab or work group to which they are affiliated. The same funding exclusion as above applies for research projects – if the project has received research funding over 750.000 DKK, then it is not eligible for a BII Early Innovators grant.

Applicants must also be active members of the KU Lighthouse community. If you are not already a Resident, you can become one before the funding period begins.

What Makes a Strong Application?

We are looking for projects that:

• Wholly or partially address one of the challenge areas
• Offer a compelling solution or direction
• Have a clear plan for testing key assumptions
• Demonstrate commitment from the team
• Present a realistic and justified budget

The strongest applications show exactly how the funding will help answer important questions about the idea and move the project forward.

What can the funding be used for?

We cannot provide an exhaustive list of all eligible funding purposes, but we can generally detail that funding from the BII Grant can typically cover:

• Materials for prototyping (including digital prototypes)
• Development and testing of a prototype or similar in-market validation exercises
• Expenses in related to participation in relevant conferences or events that can be linked to progressing the idea or solution meaningfully
• Rental of equipment
• Specialised software or hardware for tasks requiring specific equipment

The funding does not cover:

• Salaries
• General operations
• Regular office supplies
• IT hardware for regular office work (ie. laptops, phones etc.)
• Catering
• The creation of events beyond those that can be linked to solution validation or market exploration

Application Guidelines

How to Apply

Applications are submitted here on the Lighthouse website via our online application form.

FAQs

1. Eligibility

• Do I need to have a company?
  No. The grant is specifically designed to support very early-stage projects. You can apply before creating a company.
• Do I need a prototype?
  No. Many successful projects begin with an idea and a plan for testing it.
• Is my project too mature?
  We don’t generally consider project maturity to be a metric that we evaluate on. However, if you’ve already received funding for the idea of more than 750.000 DKK or are generating revenue based on the idea or solution then you are too mature for the grant.
• Can I apply as an individual?
  Yes. Individual applicants and teams are both welcome.

2. Funding

• Can students receive the funding directly?
  No. Project expenses are administered through KU Lighthouse. This allows teams to access resources without personally covering costs upfront.
• What can the funding be used for?
  Funding can be used for expenses directly related to validating and developing your idea.
• How much funding can I request?
  Projects can request up to DKK 100,000.

3. Process

• Is there an application deadline?
  We receive applications twice a year – in spring and in late autumn. The next application deadline is October 16, 2026 at 23.59.
• What happens after the project ends?
  Teams will be invited to share what they learned through a short project summary and a presentation at a showcase event.
• Who owns the intellectual property?
  You do. Any intellectual property developed through the project remains with the project team.