Summer School for Future Founders in Cyprus

Dear students,

As part of the SUNRISE European University Alliance, our partner, the European University Cyprus (EUC), is hosting the

EUC Startup Academy & Competition: Summer School for Future Founders

Which will take place from the 6th to the 10th of July 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Join us for our Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Program (BIP). This five-day event will bring together student innovators and academic staff from all partner universities within the SUNRISE consortium. It aims to promote entrepreneurial thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the exchange of innovative ideas across borders and academic disciplines.

Programme Highlights

The 5-day programme will include:

• Entrepreneurship & Innovation Workshops
• Guest speaker talks with experts in start-ups and youth entrepreneurship
• Mentoring Sessions with Industry Experts
• Pitching Skills workshop
• SUNRISE Start-up Competition during the last day of the event
• 2 Cultural & Networking Events

Participants will benefit from both theoretical knowledge and practical feedback, culminating in a final pitching event where teams will present their start-up ideas before a panel of judges from academia and industry.

Conditions:

• You are a team of 2-3 students with a startup idea (individuals only in exceptional cases)
• Your idea should be at the initial idea development stage. All academic disciplines and industry areas are welcome.
• Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged.
• Your idea/team will be selected  through a process conducted by the start-up service at TU Ilmenau.

Application process:

• Application deadline:    1 February 2026
• Idea presentation:          12 February 2026

Important information:

• Who: Bachelor and Master students (2 teams with max 3 members or 3 teams with max 2 members per team)
• When: Attendance phase in Cyprus: 06.07.2026-10.07.2026, online phase: to be determined
• Where: European University Cyprus, Nicosia - SUNRISE PARTNER UNIVERSITY
• ECTS credits: 3
• Language requirements: English B2

Have we piqued your interest? Then apply as a team for one of the available places to ilmkubator@tu-ilmenau.de (including a motivation letter and a description of your idea, a list of team members and contact information, your current grades and English language certificate).

Selected students will receive an Erasmus+ grant of approximately € 790.

If you require more information or have questions, please contact us at ilmkubator@tu-ilmenau.de.

Best regards

Dörte Gerhardt, Jan Radicke & Matthias Testa

Ilmkubator Gründungsservice
ilmkubator@tu-ilmenau.de