Edinburgh University Ventures & Innovation Society · 2026/27
Why not you?
The Forge: from idea to prototype to pitch.
A cohort-based, curriculum-driven execution studio that takes students from an idea to a real built thing and a delivered pitch over the course of an academic year, all enclosed in a beginner-friendly environment. In partnership with Edinburgh Innovations (EI) and Old College Capital.
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At a glance
Two semesters, one continuous arc.
The Forge runs across the full academic year. Semester 1 teaches the fundamentals and ends at a mock pitch; Semester 2 develops the work and ends at a judged showcase. Rest easy knowing our team will be with you every step of the way in getting you ready.
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taught sessions | 7 (Sessions 1–7) | 7 (Sessions 8–14) |
| Launch | Fri 25 Sep 2026 | Tue 12 Jan 2027 |
| Idea Memorandum | Sun 18 Oct 2026 | Sun 31 Jan 2027 (new teams) |
| Deck deadline | Sun 8 Nov 2026 (v1) | Sun 7 Mar 2027 (final) |
| Advisory stage | Week 8, w/c 9 Nov 2026 | FLW + w/c 1 Mar 2027 |
| Pitch event | Mock pitch, Wed 18 Nov 2026 | Final mock, Tue 9 Mar 2027 |
| Flagship event | None — deferred to March | Final Showcase, Tue 16 Mar 2027 |
| Programme ends | Week 10 (one-to-one sessions) | Week 11 (AGM, Tue 30 Mar) |
What the Forge is
A cohort-based execution studio — not an accelerator.
The Forge is EUVIS's core programme: a cohort-based, curriculum-driven execution studio that takes students from an idea to a built thing and a delivered pitch over the course of an academic year.
It is not a startup accelerator, and it is not restricted to commercial ventures. Teams may build a software MVP, a physical prototype, a charity or service pilot, a research-to-impact project, or a social venture. The programme is domain-agnostic and open to students from any discipline, at any level of prior experience. What is held constant is the process: structured weekly teaching, a written commitment early, iterative build, professional feedback, and a public pitch.
The programme is deliberately beginner-friendly. Many participants will never have built anything before, and the curriculum assumes no prior business, engineering, or entrepreneurial background.
The point the programme is trying to get across is that the same muscle memory and systems that are needed to build something offer invaluable experience that aids any given student in their professional efforts. The forge rewards the quality of Ideas to be just as high as the delivery of said idea.
What a participant leaves with
- —A prototype or minimum viable product
- —An Idea Memorandum and pitch deck
- —A documented record of the build
- —Direct experience presenting to a professional panel
- —If selected by Edinburgh Innovations, said team will get an invite to pitch in their programmes official pitch off without having to complete their programme
- —Pitch deck and details forever archived onto our alumni pitches page
- —Certificates of completion at junior & senior levels respectively
How the programme is structured
One track. Three ways in. Delivered by the President.
One track in Year 1. The Forge launches with a single General Builder track. Rather than splitting a founding cohort across specialised streams before demand is known, everyone works through one common curriculum, and projects of any type are supported within it. Specialised tracks (Tech MVP, Physical Product & Prototyping, Social Impact, Research to Prototype) will be introduced in later years once cohort size and delivery capacity justify them.
Three ways to join. Members may work on their own, arrive with a team they have recruited themselves, or be matched into a team at the launch session. Nobody needs to arrive with a team, and nobody is forced into one. All three routes follow the same curriculum and are held to the same deliverables.
Delivery. In Year 1 all fourteen taught sessions are delivered by the President. This keeps quality, tone, and continuity consistent across the founding cohort. Constructors — trained student facilitators — will be introduced as the programme scales.
Sessions run Tuesdays 18:00–19:30, with the exception of the Semester 1 launch session on Friday 25 September. All sessions are recorded and published with written summaries. Forge week numbers map one-to-one onto University of Edinburgh teaching weeks.
On your own
Work solo through the curriculum. You can form or join a team later.
With a team you've recruited
Arrive with a team you've assembled yourself.
Matched into a team
Be matched into a team at the launch session.
The shape of the year
A single two-semester arc — not two self-contained halves.
Semester 1 teaches the fundamentals and ends at a mock pitch with an advisory panel. There is deliberately no competitive final in December. Semester 2 teaches a second block, admits new teams, and culminates in a final mock pitch and a final showcase with a judging panel.
Semester 1 · 2026
Weeks 1–7
25 Sep – 8 Nov
Taught sessions 1–7
Teams form; Idea Memorandum; deck v1
Week 8
9–15 Nov
Advisory pairing
EI advisors matched by domain; OCC resources
Week 9
Wed 18 Nov
Mock pitch
Edinburgh Innovations + OCC joint advice panel · 5 min/team
Week 10
23–29 Nov
One-to-one sessions
Bookable slots with the President
Semester 2 · 2027
Weeks 1–7
11 Jan – 7 Mar
Taught sessions 8–14
New teams join; catch up on recordings
Week 8
Tue 9 Mar
Final mock pitch
Edinburgh Innovations panel; OCC optional · full run-through
Week 9
Tue 16 Mar
Final showcase
Edinburgh Innovations + OCC judging panel · 5 min / 3 min
Week 10
Tue 23 Mar
EI Showcase & Pitch-Off
Selected teams only · run by Edinburgh Innovations
Teams carry over from Semester 1 into Semester 2 — the work continues, not restarts.
Semester 1 · 2026
Semester 1 — week by week
| Forge week | Week runs | Day & time | What happens | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 14–20 Sep | — | Welcome Week. Activities Fair; sign-ups open. | — |
| Week 1 | 21–27 Sep | Fri 25 Sep, 18:00–20:00 | Launch + Session 1 (extended). Programme overview, team formation — solo, self-recruited, or matched — then Session 1 teaching. | Teams confirmed Sun 27 Sep |
| Week 2 | 28 Sep – 4 Oct | Tue 29 Sep, 17:30–19:30 | Catch-up clinic for late joiners, then Session 2. | Registration closes Sun 4 Oct |
| Week 3 | 5–11 Oct | Tue 6 Oct | Session 3. | — |
| Week 4 | 12–18 Oct | Tue 13 Oct | Session 4 — Idea Memorandum clinic. | Idea Memorandum due Sun 18 Oct, 23:59 |
| Week 5 | 19–25 Oct | Tue 20 Oct | Session 5. IM feedback returned in session. TB1 ends Fri 23 Oct. | Edinburgh Innovations advisor matching request submitted |
| Week 6 | 26 Oct – 1 Nov | Tue 27 Oct | Session 6. TB2 starts Mon 26 Oct. | Edinburgh Innovations advisors confirmed per team |
| Week 7 | 2–8 Nov | Tue 3 Nov | Session 7 — final taught session. Delivery, stage presence, handling questions. | Deck v1 due Sun 8 Nov, 23:59 |
| Week 8 | 9–15 Nov | Across the week | Advisory pairing week. Edinburgh Innovations advisors matched by domain; Old College Capital advice and resources. | — |
| Week 9 | 16–22 Nov | Wed 18 Nov, evening | Mock pitch. Joint Edinburgh Innovations and OCC advice panel. 5 minutes per team. | — |
| Week 10 | 23–29 Nov | Bookable slots | One-to-one sessions with the President. Teams book individual time for deeper guidance on direction, scope, and next steps. | — |
| Week 11 | 30 Nov – 4 Dec | — | Dark. No activity. TB2 ends Fri 4 Dec. | — |
Semester 2 · 2027
Semester 2 — week by week
| Forge week | Week runs | Day & time | What happens | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 11–17 Jan | Tue 12 Jan, 18:00–20:00 | Session 8 + new-member intake. Returning teams continue; new members onboarded and form teams on the same three routes. | — |
| Week 2 | 18–24 Jan | Tue 19 Jan | Session 9. | New-member registration closes Sun 24 Jan |
| Week 3 | 25–31 Jan | Tue 26 Jan | Session 10. | New-team Idea Memorandum due Sun 31 Jan, 23:59 |
| Week 4 | 1–7 Feb | Tue 2 Feb | Session 11. New-team IM feedback returned; Edinburgh Innovations advisors matched to new teams. | — |
| Week 5 | 8–14 Feb | Tue 9 Feb | Session 12. TB3 ends Fri 12 Feb. | — |
| FLW | 15–19 Feb | — | Flexible Learning Week. No taught session. Optional advisor drop-ins and build time. | — |
| Week 6 | 22–28 Feb | Tue 23 Feb | Session 13. TB4 starts Mon 22 Feb. | — |
| Week 7 | 1–7 Mar | Tue 2 Mar | Session 14 — final taught session. Advisor consultations run across this week alongside. | Final deck due Sun 7 Mar, 23:59 |
| Week 8 | 8–14 Mar | Tue 9 Mar, evening | Final mock pitch. Edinburgh Innovations advice panel; OCC panel optional. Full run-through under panel conditions. | — |
| Week 9 | 15–21 Mar | Tue 16 Mar, evening | Final showcase. Edinburgh Innovations and OCC judging panel. | Final deck submitted on the day |
| Week 10 | 22–28 Mar | Tue 23 Mar, 15:00–17:00 | Edinburgh Innovations Showcase and Pitch-Off at Bayes. Selected EUVIS teams pitch. Run by Edinburgh Innovations, not by EUVIS. | — |
| Week 11 | 29 Mar – 2 Apr | Tue 30 Mar | Annual General Meeting. Committee elections; outgoing Treasurer presents accounts. TB4 ends Fri 2 Apr. | Re-registration follows AGM |
Deliverables & cohorts
What's due, when, and for whom.
| Deliverable | Cohort | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Idea Memorandum | Whole-year teams | Sun 18 Oct 2026 |
| Deck v1 (mock-ready) | Whole-year teams | Sun 8 Nov 2026 |
| Idea Memorandum | New teams | Sun 31 Jan 2027 |
| Final deck | All teams | Sun 7 Mar 2027 |
| Final deck (revised) | All teams | Tue 16 Mar 2027, on the day |
Idea Memorandum. A short written argument for why your idea should exist and what you will do next: nine sections, 1,600 words maximum, written in prose. The full guide and answer template are in the Builder area. It is a commitment device, not a scored piece of work: every memo receives written feedback against the same four criteria. Deck v1 is explicitly a draft — it exists so the advisory meetings and mock pitch have something concrete to work on. The final version is not due until March.
Two cohorts, one programme
| Whole-year teams | New teams | |
|---|---|---|
| Join | Semester 1 Week 1 · Fri 25 Sep 2026 | Semester 2 Week 1 · w/c 11 Jan 2027 |
| Sessions live | Sessions 1–14 | Sessions 8–14 |
| Sessions by recording | — | Sessions 1–7 |
| Idea Memorandum | Sun 18 Oct 2026 | Sun 31 Jan 2027 |
| Edinburgh Innovations advisor matched | Sem 1 Week 6 | Sem 2 Week 4 |
| Final showcase slot | 5 minutes | 3 minutes |
Every taught session is recorded and published with a detailed written summary. New members are directed to the Semester 1 archive on joining and are expected to work through the recordings — so the 31 January Idea Memorandum deadline is a known obligation, not a surprise.
Final showcase pitch formats
Whole-year teams
5 minutes + Q&ATwo semesters of development. A more mature project has more to show and needs the time to show it: prototype, evidence, iteration history.
New teams
3 minutes + Q&AOne semester of development. A shorter slot is proportionate to the stage of the work, not a penalty.
Both cohorts present on the same evening to the same panel, but are judged against different expectations. Winners and selected teams are forwarded to the Edinburgh Innovations Showcase and Pitch-Off on Tuesday 23 March 2027. EUVIS makes no investment decision and negotiates no terms.
The Forge mindset
Build before you overthink.
Test before you claim.
Listen before you pitch.
Simplify before you scale.
Earn attention through clarity.
The first version is supposed to be rough.
The Forge is open to students who are ready to begin.
Beginner-friendly. Domain-agnostic. No prior experience required.
Join The Forge