Oxford Edge, a Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the University of Oxford launched by Christ Church, is open to students from any Department or College.

Alongside a series of workshops covering the fundamentals of building a business, from market sizing through to fundraising, students were mentored throughout by experienced entrepreneurs and investors, and heard from a range of speakers: Oxford alumni who have gone on to found their own businesses, entrepreneurs currently building ventures in Oxford, and even alumni from last year's cohort, returning to share what they had learned in the year since.

At the programme's midpoint, students tested their ideas at an Investor Showcase, in which they received feedback from venture capital and early-stage seed investors to guide their thinking. The cohort also spent a day at Scale Space in London, meeting founders and scientists building at the intersection of deep tech and venture creation, before gathering for a dinner at Christ Church to celebrate the progress they had made together over the eight weeks.

The programme culminated in Demo Day, held on Thursday 20 August at the University’s new Life and Mind Building, where nine teams pitched in front of a judging panel of academic and industry leaders for a share of a £16,000 prize pot. Taking the top prize of £10,000 was Ictus, developing a wearable device for low-cost epileptic seizure detection. Second place, and £5,000, went to Cloq, developing miniaturised, low-cost quantum clocks; the Cloq team includes a Christ Church student, and the venture also won a place to pitch at Stage Two, an international competition in Berlin. The audience vote for best presenter, and a further £1,000, went to Vivoxa, developing a portable diagnostics platform. Congratulations to all nine teams who took part this year.

If you would like to hear more about StEP, or get involved next year, we would be pleased to hear from you.