TATA VARSITY PITCH COMPETITION 2024 LAUNCHES

A CELEBRATION OF STUDENT ENTERPRISE ACROSS THE UK

At noon (12.00 BST) on Monday 29th July 2024 the Tata Varsity Pitch Competition 2024 launches and will be open for applications, inviting innovative student and graduate business owners the chance to win £15,000 to help fund their early-stage business.

Tata Varsity Pitch Competition 2024, powered by NACUE (The National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs), is a national initiative dedicated to both current students and recent graduates (those that graduated in 2017 or after) celebrating high potential, early-stage ventures coming directly out of colleges and universities across the UK.

NACUE and the Tata group have worked together for fifteen years now through this competition to help in ‘Powering the Enterprising Generation’ to support talented and ambitious young people, committed to innovating their own ideas through enterprise and entrepreneurship. This year, as part of celebrating the 15th year of the competition, we are pleased to welcome IHCL and Tata Elxsi joining existing Tata group companies JLR, Tata Communications, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Consumer Products, as category supporters.

The competition has developed over that time and Tata group has become a well-known supporter in the entrepreneurial eco-system across the UK. To date, the competition has received almost 2,100 outstanding applications from ambitious and aspiring entrepreneurs from many educational institutions throughout the UK with an increase in quality year-on-year. Exceptionally high calibre start-ups have been actively involved in social enterprise too, with recent winners being Blaze (now Beryl), AEROPOWDER, WASE, Post Carbon Lab, The Washing Machine Project, Drill Surgeries and Even.

The Tata Varsity Pitch Competition is a rallying call to all students or recent graduates from any UK educational institution to submit a 60-second video elevator pitch, as part of the application process. After a shortlisting process 30 start-ups will be invited to pitch to a panel of esteemed judges at the semi-finals in October 2024 to compete for one of the seven finalist spots. The finalists will have the opportunity to attend a two-day Bootcamp before the Grand Final with a lineup of industry professionals who will ensure they are well prepped for their big day with in-kind support such as expert advice on business plans, pitching skills and to how to professionally network. The finalists will compete at the Grand Final in November 2024 during Global Entrepreneurship Week for the opportunity to take home the coveted national title and £15,000 equity free funding.

Tim Jones CBE, Executive Director at Tata Limited said:

“The goal of the Tata Varsity Pitch competition is to engage and encourage young entrepreneurs. It has been a privilege to work with The National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) to build and develop the competition over the last fifteen years, with hundreds of young companies participating and showcasing their businesses.

Many Tata businesses participate as mentors, and we believe the Tata Varsity Pitch is an exceptional platform for young entrepreneurs to reach a wider audience and build out their network of contacts.
We are very excited to have WIRED involved again this year, we’re looking forward to seeing the entrants and we wish them all the very best of luck.”

For more information and further details, go to NACUE’s website or contact the Events Team at NACUE via their dedicated email: events@nacue.com.