UQ Ventures

What a vibe ⚡️The energy. The ideas. The ecosystem showing up.

ilab Pitch Night 2026 brought 300 people together at The Princess Theatre to back the next wave of UQ founders 🚀Huge thanks to our judges Luke Anear, Terry Woodcroft and Josh Duck, and to our MC Corey Berther (Pollinate), as well as our sponsors Pitcher Partners and SafetyCulture.

Shoutout to our 9 startup teams, what a journey 👏
🏆 BIDLOGIQ
🏅 Qubit Forge (EiR Award)
👍 Qubit Forge (People’s Choice)
📸 More photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCUNpP

This time next week, our founders step onto the stage at ilab Pitch Night.
In front of our judging panel Luke Anear, Terry Woodcroft and Josh Duck, they’ll put everything on the line.

Come see the next wave of startups in action. Tickets are moving quickly, don’t miss out.
🎟️ The Princess Theatre on Thursday 21 May: https://ow.ly/zBWb50YZrSf

🎟️ Tickets are selling fast for UQ Ventures ilab Accelerator Pitch Night: Chapter 1 (2026), so don't miss the opportunity to be in the room to hear our founders pitch their ventures live to investors, industry partners, and Queensland's innovation community.

Join us at The Princess Theatre for an evening of startup pitches, conversations with founders, and connections across the ecosystem.

📅 Thursday 21st May
🕕 6:15–9:00pm (doors open 5:15pm with networking and refreshments)
📍 The Princess Theatre, Woolloongabba
🎟️ Secure your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ilab-accelerator-pitch-night-2026-chapter-1-tickets-1986044238781

ilab Accelerator and the ilab Pitch Night are proudly supported by Pitcher Partners, SafetyCulture, UniQuest and the UniQuest Extension Fund.

Don't miss out on this chance to connect with innovators!

Scaling a food or beverage business? Applications are now open for the FaBA Growth Hub 🥦

We're looking for Australia's most ambitious food and beverage founders: startups and SMEs ready to grow, scale, and become investment-ready.

🗓️ 12 weeks. No equity. Fully online.

Expert-led workshops, 1:1 mentoring with Philippe Ceulen (EiR), and a direct connection to UQ Ventures' network.

Applications close Monday 20 April, 9:00 AM AEST.
Program Dates: Tuesday 5 May - Tuesday 21 July.

👉 Apply: https://survey.app.uq.edu.au/faba-growth-hub-2026-application

The Shanghai Startup AdVenture application deadline has been extended to 12 March. 🎉 Curious about what a Startup AdVenture is really like? 🌏 We’ve just added new student stories to our Startup AdVenture blog collection - featuring reflections from recent experiences in Hanoi, Shenzhen, Singapore, SF and Shanghai.

From first-time startup journeys to deep dives into AI, social impact, and intrapreneurship, these blogs highlight how four weeks in a startup can transform your confidence, skills, and career direction.

✅ New deadline: Applications for the 2026 Shanghai Startup AdVenture now close at 11:59pm Thursday 12 March.

🔗Visit https://ventures.uq.edu.au/research/area/startup-adventure to:
– Explore the full Startup AdVenture blog collection
– Read the latest Shenzhen and Hanoi stories

Tag a UQ friend who should be on this year’s flight to Shanghai! ✈️

Get ready to take off to Shanghai! Join us for our cohort taking off during semester break in June - July. Don't miss out on this opportunity! ✈️

Applications for Startup AdVentures Shanghai close Monday 9 March! Learn more and apply https://ventures.uq.edu.au/startup-adventures/shanghai?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SUA

We’re taking a holiday break!

UQ Ventures is now closed for the festive season and will return on Monday, 5 January 2026.

Thank you for an incredible year — we can’t wait to kick off 2026 with you.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season.

🚀 Ready to take your startup to the next level in 2026?
Join one of our UQ Ventures programs and turn your ideas into impact!

✨ Empower Women’s Pre-Accelerator
For early-stage, women-led startups ready to build strong foundations.

🔥 ilab Accelerator
For startups looking to scale fast. Includes a $15,000 SAFE note investment from UniQuest Extension Fund.

📅 Info Session: 17 December
📍Ventures, GCI Building, UQ St Lucia Campus

👉 Register Now: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/get-ready-for-ilab-and-empower-2026-in-person-information-session-tickets-1976672500660?aff=oddtdtcreator

LeadHers Rise: Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs! 💜
Tomorrow is Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, a global celebration of women who turn ideas into impact.

At UQ Ventures, we kicked off celebrations early with LeadHers Rise on Friday—a powerful event bringing together founders, supporters, and changemakers across Brisbane.

✨ Keynote highlight: Rochelle Courtenay, founder of Share the Dignity , shared her inspiring journey from asking friends to donate sanitary items to building a national movement partnering with Woolworths, Bunnings, and more. Her story captured the resilience and passion needed to create meaningful change.

🏆 Congratulations to our 2025 LeadHers Award winners:
🎓 UQ Student: Fildzah Annisa
🚀 Entrepreneur: Helena Uhm
🌍 Community: Vanessa Garrard

Thank you to Professor Jessica Gallagher for supporting these awards and Bloom Cycle for the beautiful sustainable trophies.

As Rochelle reminded us: “It doesn’t matter if you win; what matters is that you are in the room.”

👉 Celebrate the next wave of women founders at our Empower Women’s Pre-Accelerator Demo Day: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/organizations/events

🌟 Ready to be inspired? 🌟

Empower Demo Day is your chance to see The University of Queensland ’s newest founders take the stage and share their big ideas!

We’re proud to have the support from Everest.Engineering, Pitcher Partners , The Product Bus and Google Cloud in making this event possible.

📅 When: Tuesday, 25 November
🕒 Time: 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 Where: The Precinct | Level 2/315 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley

Don’t miss this celebration of creativity and entrepreneurship.

👉 Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/uq-ventures-empower-demo-day-tickets-1902431847869?aff=oddtdtcreator