WE Innovate team awarded the Julia Higgins Medal

The WE Innovate Team was awarded a Julia Higgins Medal for their contributions in supporting women at Imperial, via their pre-accelerator programme targeted towards female entrepreneurs. The Julia Higgins Medal “recognises individuals, groups, and departments that have made a significant contribution to the support of women in academia at Imperial,” per the Imperial website. 

According to the 2019 Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, only 1 in 3 UK entrepreneurs are women. Female-only businesses receive less than 2% of all UK venture capital investment, per the 2025 Invest in Women Taskforce Annual Report. 

The programme aims to address the gender gap in entrepreneurship by offering female-led ventures early-stage support, mentoring, funding, and networks. 

“As a pre-accelerator, [WE Innovate] empowers women before their ventures are revenue-ready – where they’re most likely to opt out,” reads the WE Innovate website. “WE Innovate challenges outdated stereotypes, redefines who leads in innovation, and has become a national model for inclusive entrepreneurship.” 

The programme runs from January to June, beginning with 25 teams in the first phase. At the end of the programme, the top five teams compete in the final pitch competition for a share of a £30,000 prize. The programme has supported over 550 women, who have raised over £88 million in funding after the programme's end. 

“It’s about encouraging female founders to root that idea and run with it,” said Samantha Allen-Turner, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Coordinator for the WE Innovate programme.  

The programme also gives female founders an opportunity to build a network of people in the founder space. “You understand the power of networks and the power of being in a space of people who are going through the same thing as you,” Allen-Turner said.  

The programme, which started at Imperial in 2014, has been successfully adapted and delivered by university partners across the UK. As the consortium continues to grow, the WE Innovate team hopes to create opportunities for founders from across the network to connect, collaborate, and support one another. 

Students attend biweekly training sessions and receive one-on-one business coaching. The programme gives them access to masterclasses, workshops, and guidance to develop their ideas, both during the programme and after. In phase 2 of the programme, teams receive a £500 equity free grant to further support this idea development. 

“It’s not just, ‘Here’s the programme and there you go,’” said Allen-Turner. “There’s a continued follow-up and opportunities that come through after the programme.” 

The programme is part of the Enterprise Lab, and Allen-Turner emphasises the support available for students within the larger Enterprise Lab ecosystem. They have a co-working space, as well as hosting standalone ‘How To’ masterclasses, Entrepreneurship Cafes, and community colliders. Students can also book an Idea Surgery, to discuss an idea and receive suggestions about what to do next. 

“We really want to encourage even just interest or conversations with people who maybe aren’t quite sure they’re ready,” said Allen-Turner. 

Applications for the upcoming WE Innovate cohort are currently open on their website and close on November 16, 2026. Students can expect to hear back December 16, and the program begins on January 21, 2027. 

The application is very straightforward: “I’ve thought about this problem. This is a solution I want to create to solve it,” said Allen-Turner. “We are looking for people who are genuinely excited to start that kind of journey.” 

The WE Innovate team is offering sessions in October for students to learn about the programme and how to make their application stand out. 

Allen-Turner is looking forward to seeing the teams’ growth: “It’s going to be really lovely to see how everyone develops and what they gain from it.”