Grow your startup with the Hatchery incubator programme

The Hatchery is UCL’s equity free incubator, providing co-working space, resources and support to help your startup succeed.

About the Hatchery programme

The Hatchery is a 2-year incubator programme for UCL students and recent graduates, located at BaseKX, UCL’s dedicated entrepreneurship hub in King’s Cross.

New cohorts join the Hatchery twice a year, in spring and autumn. (Our next cohort will start in May 2026).

Following a 8-week induction programme, Hatchery members have access to a range of benefits to help drive their startup's growth.

If you have an innovative solution that you want to push toward commercial reality, we're committed to helping you make that happen.

Induction programme

For the first 8 weeks of the programme, you’ll attend a series of workshops and induction sessions. These will set you up with essential entrepreneurial skills and help you connect with your cohort and other Hatchery founders.

Each week you'll attend 1 in-person workshop on a Thursday evening and at least 2 virtual sessions.

All sessions are compulsory, and only startups who can commit at least one team member to attending all sessions are eligible for the programme.

Hatchery benefits

Throughout your 2-year membership of the Hatchery, you’ll receive continuous support, tailored to your startup’s needs, including:

regular workshops: access to specialised workshops and training events to hone your business skills
professional advice: access to one-on-one meetings with experienced entrepreneurship advisors across a range of areas including sales, intellectual property, legal support and marketing
dedicated mentorship: personalised guidance from a dedicated mentor invested in your success
funding: when you’re ready to start fundraising, you’ll gain access to the Hatchery’s wide investor network
networking: opportunities to connect with subject matter experts, founders, investors and mentors through various events
facilities: access to up to four hot desks for your team, and ability to book meeting rooms and host events in our event space for free
interns: opportunities to employ fully funded interns to support your startup

"The experience of being part of the Hatchery was the most memorable time of my entire three years at uni. It was amazing to meet like-minded, ambitious individuals who not only give amazing support but also useful feedback."

Dona Kahawe, Founder & CEO of Green Gains

Key dates

Applications open: Monday, 12 January 2026.

Applications close: Sunday, 29 March 2026, 23:59

Interviews (in-person): 14 and 15 April 2026.

Induction programme launch day: Thursday, 7 May 2026.

Induction programme final day: Thursday, 25 June 2026.

Eligibility

You can apply to the Hatchery if you’re a current UCL student or graduated from UCL within the past 2 years.

Your company must be registered as a legal entity with Companies House before you apply.

At least one team member must commit to attending all induction programme sessions.

How to apply

Applications for the spring cohort will be open from 12 January to 29 March 2026.

To get notified when applications open, register your interest.

There are 3 steps to the application process:

Step 1: Attend a group information session

Before applying, we recommend you attend one of our online information sessions. At these, you can find out more about the Hatchery and whether your business is at the right stage to benefit from the programme.

Information session dates:

Step 2: Complete the online application form

The application form will be available here when applications open for the next cohort. To get notified when applications open, register your interest.

To understand the information you'll ned to provide in the form, you can download the application questions (Word). We recommend you review this before starting your application.

Step 3: Attend an interview

If you're shortlisted, you’ll be invited to showcase your vision and passion to our panel of experts at an in-person, 30-minute interview.

You'll need to deliver a 3-minute presentation which should cover:

Problem - What problem are you solving?
Solution - How does your product/service address this problem?
Team - Who are you? Why are you the right person/people to solve this problem?
Motivation - Why you want to be part of the Hatchery and what you're looking to gain from taking part.

Further support

If you’re still working on the early stages of your startup idea, get support with getting your idea ready for market with our Venture Builder programme.

You can also get support to start and grow your startup by talking to one of our entrepreneurship advisors.

Case studies

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