Applications for the VU TechHub Pre-Accelerator are now open!
Have an idea? Or maybe you’re still looking for an idea you’d like to contribute to? The VU TechHub Pre-Accelerator is where ideas move out of your head and into the real world.
The VU TechHub Pre-Accelerator is a 20-week programme for Vilnius University students who want test the potential of an idea, develop practical business-building skills, and experience what it takes to build a startup.
You can join the programme with an idea and a team, with an idea but no team yet, or without an idea of your own if you want to join someone else’s startup team. What matters most is your motivation to create, learn, and put your knowledge into practice.
How does it work?
The 20-week programme consists of two main stages.
The first, Founder Mindset, Opportunity & Teaming, focuses on developing an entrepreneurial mindset, identifying and exploring potential business opportunities, and building the right team. Participants will learn how to spot meaningful problems and opportunities, explore which ones could become the basis for a startup, discover their role within a team, meet other participants, and form teams around promising ideas.
The second, Startup Building, takes teams step by step through developing their ideas: defining the problem and solution, building and testing a minimum viable product (MVP), understanding customers and the market, developing a business model, learning about marketing and sales, exploring the fundamentals of startup investment, and preparing to pitch their startup.
Throughout the programme, theory is combined with hands-on workshops, individual work, and mentoring. Participants will work with experienced professionals from business, innovation, product development, marketing, sales, investment, and other fields.
Why join?
- Turn your idea into a real project. Find out whether your idea solves a real problem, who needs it, and whether it has the potential to become a viable business.
- Find a team or join one. Meet VU students from different fields of study and find people you would like to build something with.
- Develop practical startup-building skills. Go beyond theory and work on your own or your team’s project throughout the programme.
- Work with experienced experts and mentors. Get feedback from people who build businesses and products, invest, or work within the startup ecosystem.
- Become part of the startup ecosystem. Connect with mentors, business professionals, investors, and other aspiring founders.
- Pitch your startup. At the end of the programme, teams will present their startups at the VU TechHub Demo Day.
Who can participate?
The programme is open to Vilnius University students from all faculties and fields of study.
You do not need to have a running startup or an established company. You can apply if you:
- have a startup idea and a team;
- have an idea but are still looking for a team;
- do not have an idea of your own but would like to join another team and contribute your skills and knowledge to building a startup.
When does the programme take place?
The VU TechHub Pre-Accelerator is a 20-week programme taking place on Thursdays from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, from 19 November 2026 to 6 May 2027.
Each week, participants will meet programme lecturers and experts, take part in hands-on workshops, and work consistently on developing their startup.
The programme will conclude with the VU TechHub Demo Day on 6 May 2027, where teams will pitch the startups they have developed.
Want to learn more?
Join the VU TechHub Info Day on 8 October at 5:00 PM, online. We’ll explain how the programme works, who it is for, and what you can expect as a participant.
Applications for the VU TechHub Pre-Accelerator are open until 12 October.
👉 Apply and learn more: techhub.vu.lt
