Fundación Universidades y Enseñanzas Superiores de Castilla y León - "Campus Emprendedor" Initiative

What you get

This is a start-up competition for universities in Castile and León, Spain. It is held in two categories.

In the Business Project category, four winning projects will each receive a cash prize: 10,000 EUR for first place, 9,000 euros for second place, 7,500 euros for third place and a special award of 5,000 euros for cultural, social or humanities-based projects. A separate prize of 1,500 EUR will be awarded to the best science- or technology-based project in any category. This money is intended as start-up capital for the company you establish.

In the Innovative Business Idea category, the three best ideas each get a certificate and a professionally designed visual identity worth up to 1,000 EUR. The top ideas can also join a workshop on testing whether the idea works commercially.

The competition is organised by FUESCYL, the regional university foundation, in collaboration with the regional government.

Who can apply

• Who you are: You are studying at one of the universities in Castile and León, are employed there, or have graduated from one of them within the last two academic years. Staff, PhD students, researchers and scholarship holders are also eligible.
• Also eligible: Researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), based in Castile and León, and anyone who has taken part in a prototype or proof-of-concept programme funded by TCUE at one of these universities over the last five years.
• Field of study: Any field.
• Where the business goes: You must set up and carry out your project in Castilla y León.
• How you enter: You can apply individually or as a team.
• Originality: Your idea must be new. If a similar business already exists, you will be disqualified.

How to apply

Please register online via the competition website by 11 November 2026. Entries will initially be assessed locally at each university (the campus phase). The selected projects will then compete against one another in a regional round, which will conclude with a public awards ceremony.

How realistic are your chances?

This award is geographically limited. You must be affiliated with a university in Castile and León and run your business in the region, meaning that participation is restricted to local students, graduates and staff. Within this group, there is a genuine competition of ideas, in which innovation, feasibility and originality are assessed. If you have a genuinely new, viable business plan with a connection to the region, your chances are good – particularly if your project is based on scientific or technological principles, which the organisers expressly reward.