Funding support
Find out about the three business funding competitions run by the Careers and Enterprise team.
Popular pages on the careers website
£150 Survey Award
Secure £150 of funding for your business idea!
Open to all students, regardless of discipline or study focus, this funding is designed to support budding entrepreneurs like you. To take part you must:
- be a current student of The University of Salford.
- film yourself answering the three questions shown below. Please note: we may use your videos in our marketing campaigns.
- attend a Start-Up School or an Enterprise Workshop.
- attend The BIG Pitch Competition 2025 Grand Final in person on 8th May 2025, in the SEE Building Multifunction Space on the Ground Floor May 2025.
The three questions for your video
- What more can the Enterprise team do to foster entrepreneurial spirit and innovation among students?
- Why do you think incentives and events like the £150 Survey Award, the £300 Start-Ups Competition Award and The Big Pitch Competition matter?
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What advice would you give to students who are disinclined to put themselves forward for enterprise workshops, activities and competitions?
Send us your video by Monday 31st March 2025. All shortlisted students will be notified in the week beginning 21st April 2025.
If you have any questions, please email careers&enterprise@salford.ac.uk.
The Big Pitch Competition 2025
Turn your business idea into reality and win up to £5,000 in start-up funds!
Whether you are passionate about making a difference, starting your own venture, or freelancing, join The Big Pitch Competition 2025 and secure funding to kickstart your business.
Open to all students (and graduates within one year), regardless of discipline or study focus, this funding is designed to support budding entrepreneurs like you. Your idea doesn't have to be related to your studies. To take part you must:
- have the legal right to start a business in the UK.
- have attended a Careers and Enterprise appointment or workshop.
- pre-register and fully attend one of the Careers & Enterprise Team's 2024/25 Start-Up Schools.
- provide evidence, through research, of market demand for your business.
- have a business idea that is sustainable, and capable of making a profit, with the potential to start trading within 12 months.
- have a product or service that complies with UK law.
- attend The BIG Pitch Competition 2025 Grand Final in person on 8th May 2025, in the SEE Building Multifunction Space on the Ground Floor May 2025.
- be eligible to work or be self-employed in the UK.
Students who were finalists in the Big Pitch Competition 2024 are not eligible to apply.
Students without the right to set up a business in the UK are encouraged to apply for our £300 Start-Ups Competition and £150 Survey Award.
What you need to do next
Taking part in the competition is easy.
- Fill in The Big Pitch Competition 2025 application form.
- Send us your three-minute video pitch. We recommend that you watch this video on turning PowerPoint slides into a video.
The competition closing date is Monday 31st March 2025. If shortlisted, you MUST be available to pitch live on the given date. All shortlisted entrants will be notified in the week beginning 14th April 2025.
If you have any questions, please email careers&enterprise@salford.ac.uk.
Speak to a Small Business Adviser
Our Small Business Advisers are on hand to help. Book an appointment or call +44 (0)161 295 0023 (option 5).
Appointments are available for current students and graduates of the University of Salford only.