The Study Melbourne Future Founders Venture Scholarships, brought to you by Study Melbourne and StartSpace are the only international student focused initiative in Victoria that provides seed funding for entrepreneurship ventures, as well as StartSpace Loft membership and one-on-one coaching and mentoring opportunities.  

Applications are now closed for the 2023 scholarship program which will run from 18 April to 4 July. If you missed out this time don't worry, we are planning another program for 2024.

Keep scrolling to learn about about the 2023 scholars!

Please note the applications for the 2023 Venture Scholarships are now closed.

There are five Study Melbourne Future Founders Venture Scholarships available for individual founders or teams of up to 3 members.

To be eligible to apply as the primary applicant of the scholarship, you need to be a current or former international student (up to 5 years post-graduation).  

The 2023 scholarship program will run for 12 weeks from April to July and provides:  

• $10,000 AUD seed funding for your business venture. 
• 6 x individual mentoring sessions 
• 6x group sessions with the scholarship cohort and guest speakers to learn from 
• A venture crawl event where scholars will visit other startups and support services in the local Melbourne startup ecosystem. 
• A demo day held at StartSpace at the end of the program to showcase your venture 
• StartSpace Loft Membership for the duration of the program to provide a place to work on your venture. 

How to apply 

To apply for the 2023 scholarship program, fill in the application form by Sunday 26 March 2023, 11.59pm AEDT. 

Please ensure you have read and understood the full terms and conditions of the scholarships before you apply, including eligibility requirements of the primary applicant and (if applicable) team member 1 and / or team member 2. 

You will need to supply information about yourself and if you are applying with a team, information about your team mates (up to two team members).  You will also need to provide detail about the business or idea you are working on. 

We recommend you gather the information and draft your answers in a separate word document first, as you will need to fill in your application in one go, you will not be able to save the application and return to it. 

Need help with your application? If you have accessibility requirements, please get in touch with the friendly StartSpace team at [email protected] to discuss any barriers to your participation in the Venture Scholarship program. 

Please note: Applications for the 2023 Venture Scholarships have now closed.

To help you with your application, below are some of the questions we ask, particularly in the final page of the application form, which relates to the key selection criteria.  You can use the below to draft your answers ahead of filling in the scholarship application form. 

• What is the name of your idea or business?
• What is your business or startup idea? Provide a short summary. Please also include a description of any positive social or environmental impacts your business plans to generate (if any). [up to 250 words]
• Who is the specific target audience of your business and what problem are you are solving for them? 
• How did you come up with the idea and why did you start this business (e.g. lived experience, field of study, work experience)? 
• What progress or success (traction) have you achieved so far? [up to 150 words]
• If successful, how many hours per week do you (and your team if applicable) think you will be able to commit to working on the business?
• If your application is successful, what would the scholarship mean to the roadmap of your business idea? What would you do with the funding and support? Please provide a short outline of the stages and main tasks you would like to achieve in the next 6 - 12 months [up to 250 words]
• (Optional) Upload a succinct pitch proposal about you and your business idea in one of the following formats: a PDF of no more than 10 slides (hosted on Dropbox or Google Drive) OR a three minute (max) video (hosted on Vimeo/YouTube/Dropbox or Google Drive) and provide the URL Link below. Important: Please ensure that sharing links have the necessary access requirements enabled (inaccessible document links will not be considered).

Applications submitted will be assessed based on responses to the following criteria: 

Problem & solution (20%) 
Demonstrate an understanding of the target audience and how the Primary Applicant’s product or service solves a specific problem for them. Please also include a description of any expected positive social or environmental impacts. 

Impact (20%) 
Describe how participating in the program will change the trajectory of the business (note that if successful, the Primary Applicant will be asked to provide a topline itemised budget at the start of the program). The application must demonstrate an understanding of what participants will gain from learning and working on the business together with a mentor during the program. 

Success to date & execution plan (20%) 
Demonstrate what has been achieved so far and what goals have been set to be undertaken during and after the program. The Primary Applicant must be able to demonstrate that their idea is at least at the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage (this may include details of initial momentum, engaged users, paying customers, or proof of early adopters). 

Team & Fit (20%) 
Demonstrate relevant expertise and skills. The application should identify any unique advantage the Primary Applicant or team has in delivering the product/service, and how success will be achieved, which may include information about experience, skills, networks. 

Attitude & commitment (20%) 
Demonstrate the current level of commitment being invested in the business and confirm availability to participate in the program.

For more information about eligibility and the selection criteria please read the full Terms and Conditions. 

The application process for the 2023 scholarships has now closed. We are planning to run another scholarship program in 2024.