Advance is a bespoke programme of relationship-building and business growth modules for innovators who are ready to scale and grow internationally. We foster entrepreneurship and engineering excellence from all over the world, and work to accelerate impactful innovations.
Find out more about the Advance programme below:
Why apply for Advance?
By applying for the Advance programme, you can:
- Assess where you and your business are
- Boost your confidence and soft-skills
- Enhance your leadership and entrepreneurial skills
- Strengthen your business strategy
- Improve your engineering processes
- Build UK networks, collaborations, and partnerships
- Learn to measure and communicate your impact more effectively
- Connect with an exceptional and like-minded community of Alumni
Impact
Advance first began in 2020, with the programme taking place every year since, and a new cohort expected to start in January 2025. We have supported innovators from Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, and Vietnam.
Since 2020, the LIF Advance Alumni Community has achieved the following:
- 38 entrepreneurs have completed the programme. 88% are still working on the same innovation
- 70% of innovators have patents on their product
- Over £3m raised after attending the programme, and generating £120K on average revenue per year
- On average, by innovator, 1,4 partnerships have been formed in the UK
- 3 entrepreneurs have relocated, and are now established and based in the UK
- Post-programme, on average, innovators have created 9 jobs positions
Programme structure
In January 2025, our cohort of world-changing global innovators will join the programme, and begin their six months of training, mentoring and networking. The programme will begin with introductory sessions to provide the cohort with a chance to network. Innovators will then explore and assess the stage of their business, as well as their personal business acumen.
Participants will be assigned to one of two groups, where they will:
- Complete a pre-programme diagnosis
- Identify the biggest challenges that they are facing
- Validate that the business model is pertinent, and fit for a global scale
Training will take place from February to June 2025. There will be both online and in-person sessions, structured into three modules designed to leverage each participants skills, and help to map the connections that they want to create here in the UK. Alongside this, participants will receive mentoring and 1-2-1's sessions from experts, tailored to their specific business needs.
Modules
The programme offers the following modules.
- Business model deep-dive
- Deep stakeholder mapping and strategic partnerships
- Story-telling, conflict resolution, and soft-skill enhancement
Experts 1-2-1
Expert-led online and in-person sessions for innovators on:
- Building high-impact teams
- Solving challenges
- Why and when investment
- IP protection
Masterclasses, mentoring and advisory board input
Innovators will harness diverse modules, bespoke masterclasses, mentoring sessions, and the opportunity to create their own advisory board, discussing:
- The importance of why and when investment
- How to create a marketing strategy, know your customers, and communicate with them more effectively
- Build a solid pipeline for sales
- Improve your engineering processes
- Solve day-to-day challenges
UK residential in July 2025
Participants will have the opportunity to:
- Travel to the UK for an in-person residential
- Participate in training and network-building events
- Pitch to an audience of investors and ecosystem leaders
Post-programme support
Post-programme support includes:
- Access to the LIF community and events
- Life-long mentoring, training, and networking opportunities via the LIF Innovators platform
Outcome of Advance 2025
By the end of the programme, innovators will have:
- Enhanced their soft-skills and confidence
- Liaised and engaged with a network of stakeholders
- Designed bespoke pitch-decks to use with different audiences
- Developed a deeper understanding of their IP, products, and engineering processes
- Built a supportive community
- Strengthened their teams
- Developed an understanding of the market and future opportunities
- Created targeted metrics and impact measurements
Eligibility criteria
Applications for Advance 2025 closed on 10 October 2024 at 4pm (BST).
We actively encourage applications from all under-represented backgrounds and demographics.
1. Applicants must be working on an innovation that meets any or both of the themes. We are encouraging members of the LIF alumni community (LIF 1-7, LIF Global 22-24) or the APEI alumni community (Cycles 1-10), as well as other entrepreneurs working on exceptional solutions that meet the criteria from the following countries: Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Türkiye, Vietnam.
2. Have progressed the innovation with which they are applying to the programme to at least TRL Level 7. The innovators must show evidence of a prototype in the application.
3. The applicant’s innovation can be any new product, technology, or service, which addresses the theme of Future Planet under one of the sectors listed below:
- Biodiversity
- Food security
- New materials
- Energy
4. Have established a business around their innovation. Applicants will be required to provide evidence of business incorporation in their application. Candidates must be the original innovator and own majority of the shares in the company created.
5. The innovation should have the potential to benefit the applicant’s country, and global benefit, in terms of improving social welfare and driving economic development.
6. The primary application of the innovation must NOT be in the defence, military, or fossil fuel-based energy sectors.
7. Applicants must be able to commit to Advance for a minimum of 10 hours during the ‘welcome week’ of the onboarding and beginning of the remote training (early-January), and at least 20 days for training and mentoring between January and July, including a minimum of 12 days for the UK Residential in June-July 2025. This implies being able to secure availability to attend the programme if selected. The Academy will provide documentation on Advance counting as training or continuous personal development if required once you have joined the cohort.
8. Applicants must be able to commit to travel internationally. All costs associated with the Advance programme will be paid for by the Royal Academy of Engineering, with the exception of visas and travel insurance. Participants will be asked to purchase a travel insurance covering as a minimum: GP access, medical emergencies, and personal accidents. The Academy will consider covering the costs of any caring needs related to travel on a case-by-case basis.
9. Applicants will not need to cover any costs associated with the training programme, the residential phase in the UK.
10. Candidates will need to demonstrate fluency in English to participate. This will be a key assessment metric. Make sure to write your application and upload materials fully in English to avoid being unable to gain a place on the programme. Please note that the residential programme will be conducted entirely in English.
11. Applicants must be committed to LIF, APEI goals around sustainable development and responsible innovation.
12. Applicants must be aligned to the Academy values, progressive leadership, diversity and inclusion, excellence everywhere, collaboration first, and creativity and innovation.
13. Applicants must be interested in exploring partnership, funding, or other development opportunities in the UK innovation ecosystem, or establishing their business in the UK.
Our impact
The LIF Community works with a range of engineering and technology entrepreneurs. We have supported innovators and researchers to start, scale-up, accelerate, spin-out, and grow their businesses across the world, as well as re-located to the UK. All our programmes are offered free of charge and we take zero equity.