Leaders in Innovation Fellowships

Driving entrepreneurial growth

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Leaders in Innovation Fellowships (LIF) programme supports talented entrepreneurs from around the globe to turn their engineering innovations into impactful, sustainable businesses.

We nurture bold, scalable innovations from all areas of engineering and technology that are addressing some of the world’s most complex environmental, economic, and societal challenges.

Entrepreneurs

Each year, the LIF programme takes on a new cohort of entrepreneurs from around the world. Explore this year's cohort, and discover recent alumni.

Discover LIF entrepreneurs

Partners

Our partners help us to support global innovation, and tap into existing local and national ecosystems at the highest level.

Meet our partners

Alumni

LIF Community is a continuous learning and peer-support network for alumni of the LIF programme.

Are you a LIF alumni?

Our offer of support

Bespoke training and mentorship from world-leading experts.
Access to our prestigious network of Academy Fellows, entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, and business leaders.
Acceptance into the LIF Community: our 1,500+ alumni network providing continuous training and networking, as well as peer support.
Zero loss of equity, fee or IP for the businesses that we support.

1585+ innovators

from 19 countries enabled to commercialise their innovation and gathered in an active online community

1100+ jobs

created through innovators' companies

$603+ million

raised as further funding by innovators

The LIF entrepreneurship journey

Explore how our programmes could support you.

LIF Global

LIF Global provides commercialisation support for early-stage entrepreneurs.

LIF Community

LIF Community provides ongoing support and training for LIF alumni.

Advance

LIF Advance supports rapid scaling for customer-validated products.

Over a decade of supporting international growth

Learn more about the programme from entrepreneurs we have supported.

The LIF programme provide training for innovators to grow business skills and networks to develop, scale and fund their startup.

"The LIF programme changed my life. The mentorship, networking opportunities, and extensive training equipped me with the required skills and confidence to go after my entrepreneurial dreams. I appreciate the salient lessons that I have assimilated, and the lifelong connections I have made."

Felizardo Reyes Jr., LIF Global 2024, the Philippines

"Joining the LIF Programme will give you access to a good network in the UK to help expand your business. LIF Programme puts structure in your innovation and gives the foundation to turn it into a business."

Alexandru Topor, LIF Global 2022, Romania

"LIF is very useful: academic knowledge with real scenario mentoring. The program helped me a lot in starting my business in Vietnam - I won a lot of national and international competitions thanks to the skills I learnt through the LIF program."

Chi Thanh Tran, LIF Global 2021, Vietnam

“LIF5 allowed me, as a scientist, to understand what is a market, how to find and quantify the real value of my discoveries and what I need to start the process of creating a spin-out. Today I am not only working on the idea that led me to the LIF programme, I am, together with three graduate students, working on two new ventures.”

Cesar A Sierra, LIF Global 2019, Colombia

Africa Prize

Leaders in Innovation Fellowships

LIF Global

Advance

Driving entrepreneurial growth

Entrepreneurs

Partners

Alumni

Our offer of support

The LIF entrepreneurship journey

Over a decade of supporting international growth

"The LIF programme changed my life. The mentorship, networking opportunities, and extensive training equipped me with the required skills and confidence to go after my entrepreneurial dreams. I appreciate the salient lessons that I have assimilated, and the lifelong connections I have made."

"Joining the LIF Programme will give you access to a good network in the UK to help expand your business. LIF Programme puts structure in your innovation and gives the foundation to turn it into a business."

"LIF is very useful: academic knowledge with real scenario mentoring. The program helped me a lot in starting my business in Vietnam - I won a lot of national and international competitions thanks to the skills I learnt through the LIF program."

Are you an entrepreneur based in the UK?

Discover Academy support

Technology Transfer Training

Green Future Fellowship

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

Leaders in Innovation Fellowships

LIF Global

Advance

Driving entrepreneurial growth

Entrepreneurs

Partners

Alumni

Our offer of support

The LIF entrepreneurship journey

Over a decade of supporting international growth

"The LIF programme changed my life. The mentorship, networking opportunities, and extensive training equipped me with the required skills and confidence to go after my entrepreneurial dreams. I appreciate the salient lessons that I have assimilated, and the lifelong connections I have made."

"Joining the LIF Programme will give you access to a good network in the UK to help expand your business. LIF Programme puts structure in your innovation and gives the foundation to turn it into a business."

"LIF is very useful: academic knowledge with real scenario mentoring. The program helped me a lot in starting my business in Vietnam - I won a lot of national and international competitions thanks to the skills I learnt through the LIF program."

Are you an entrepreneur based in the UK?

Discover Academy support

Technology Transfer Training

Green Future Fellowship

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

LIF news