Development support for art-based business ideas – apply to Uniarts Helsinki’s pre-incubator in August
Uniarts Helsinki’s first pre-incubator programme will be carried out in autumn 2022. The programme offers information and support for developing entrepreneurship skills and serves as a test platform for artists’ and arts students’ business ideas.
Uniarts Helsinki’s pre-incubator programme will give operators in the arts sector an introduction to an entrepreneurial operating model, offer hands-on tools for starting up a business and serve as a platform for testing out product or service ideas and a business model. During the programme, participants are given information and insight on what it means to run a business in practice from experienced entrepreneurs.
Applicants to the pre-incubator may be individuals or teams that work in the creative sector or in the arts professionally or students who are studying the field.
The programme runs from September to December, and its participants also get to know each other and have the opportunity to take full advantage of the know-how of the programme’s experts, fellow participants, and the whole Campus Incubators Network during their idea development process. The programme lasts for 12 weeks, and it consists of not only lectures, networking events and workshops, but also mentoring that is tailored for each participant.
“The pre-incubator programme is the first of its kind at Uniarts Helsinki, and there haven’t been many incubators in the creative sector elsewhere in Finland, either. That’s why it’s really wonderful to get to develop a support service for art-based business ideas, in particular,” says Project Manager for the Programme Kati Uusi-Rauva.
“We want to offer Uniarts Helsinki students as well as other artistic creators the opportunity to reflect on entrepreneurship as a career option and to develop the option further. Pre-incubator participants get expert help in figuring out if their business idea could be turned into an actual business in the future.”
Content of the pre-incubator programme
The first pre-incubator programme will run from 5 September to 2 December 2022, and it covers the following themes, for example:
- Planning and starting up a business
- Identity as an entrepreneur
- Brand, sales and marketing
- Product development
- Administrative business routines
- Funding path
- Pitching
The programme will be carried out in English by using hybrid teaching methods. The programme consists of both in-person and hybrid workshops as well as remote lectures. By the end of the programme, the participants will pitch their ideas to experts and an audience in a live event. The more detailed programme will be published in August.
Application to the programme
The application period to join the pre-incubator will begin on 1 August and end on 29 August 2022. The application instructions will be published when the application period opens. In August, there will also be a kick-off event for the pre-incubator programme where attendees can come and hear more about the content of the programme and about the application procedure.
The pre-incubator is part of the Campus Incubators Programme, which is funded by the City of Helsinki. In addition to Uniarts Helsinki, the programme partners include Aalto University, Arcada, Haaga-Helia, Hanken, the University of Helsinki and Metropolia.
Further information
Kati Uusi-Rauva
Project Manager
Open Campus, Uniarts Helsinki
+358505271895
kati.uusi-rauva@uniarts.fi