Swinburne Elevate Program
5 August – 28 October 2025
Accelerate your startup's growth with equity-free funding, funding towards the essential financial and legal services your Startup will need to accelerate, and rent-free co-working spaces. This along with valuable connections to world-leading industry experts, mentors and investors will set you on your way to success with this dynamic 12-week program.
Scale your startup and become investment ready
Accelerate your startup's growth with $10k equity-free funding*, $10k towards essential legal and financial services, rent-free co-working spaces* and access to world-leading industry experts, mentors and investors.
We are seeking founders with the ambition, determination and resilience to transform their startup into an impactful and financially sustainable business. The Elevate Program (formerly known as the Accelerator Program) is designed for mid-stage startups with a launched MVP, product or service, a validated customer base or targeted go-to-market strategy run by founders ready to rapidly scale.
What you can receive
All successful participants will receive*:
- In person access to Swinburne's pioneering Elevate Program sessions featuring in-depth workshops and masterclasses, personal mentoring, and coaching and weekly accountability sessions
- $10,000 in equity-free funding distributed in instalments
- $10,000 in funding towards essential financial and legal services
- Three months of rent-free co-working space at Swinburne's Hawthorn campus
- Valuable connections to world-leading, industry expert, entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors
- A unique opportunity to pitch directly to investors, mentors and potential partners at the flagship Venture Cup Pitch Night
- Priority access to Swinburne Ventures Limited's investment committee
*Conditions apply.
Eligibility criteria
We are seeking startups with market-ready products or services, led by founders eager to scale rapidly and who are currently preparing for a pre-seed or seed-fundraising round. Eligible startups must also meet the criteria to qualify for funding from Swinburne Ventures Limited, which include:
- Stage of venture – seed or pre-seed with a MVP, validated problem and early customer traction
- Venture focus – technology-based
- Business model – has to be scalable (i.e. can't be a small business or consultancy)
- Incorporation – needs to be an Australian registered business
- Team composition – either (1) at least one founder must be staff, student or alumni or (2) startups that have strong alignment with Swinburne's focus areas and strengths, with at least one founder to attend all sessions
- Purpose and impact – focuses on solving a real validated problem
Have questions about the Elevate Program?
- Email us at innovationstudio@swinburne.edu.au.
- Subscribe to the Innovation Studio Newsletter.
- Connect with us on LinkedIn for the latest program updates.
Schedule a session with us
You can also schedule a 15-minute session with our team to discuss your application and goals for the program. Simply email us at innovationstudio@swinburne.edu.au to lock in a time.
Program highlights
Discover all the details about our program from 2024.
Venture Cup Pitch Night
Watch the Elevate Program participants pitch their startup ideas during the Venture Cup Pitch Night in 2024.
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- Business
- Technology
Startups lead the way in innovation at 2024 Venture Cup Pitch Night
The 2024 Annual Venture Cup Pitch Night at Swinburne University of Technology celebrated the achievements of seven startups, marking the successful completion of their journey through Swinburne Innovation Studio's accelerator initiative, the Elevate Program.
Monday 02 December 2024
Our success stories
Learn about a few of the many successful graduates from the Elevate Program.
Founded by recent Swinburne alum Oliver Farnill and co-founder Finnlay Morcombe, Fluency participated in the 2023 Elevate (Accelerator) program.
Throughout the 12-week journey with the Innovation Studio, the team diligently developed their startup, focusing on customer insights, business validation, and constructing a minimum viable product through various workshops.
Since its inception in early 2023, Fluency has generated significant market interest, with several companies currently trialling the software and moving towards full implementation.
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- Technology
- University
Swinburne-founded software startup Fluency launches first product suite
Fluency, a startup co-founded by a Swinburne alum, is launching its first product suite aimed at streamlining manual documentation processes.
Friday 10 May 2024
Founded by Alex Sinickas, Milkdrop participated in the 2020 Elevate (Accelerator) program. Through the Innovation Studio, Alex was connected with Swinburne researchers to develop a prototype.
Over the 12-week program, Milkdrop honed their packaging, branding, and go-to-market strategy. Shortly after, Milkdrop successfully launched its first product in Australia.
“The Swinburne Accelerator Program connected us with excellent mentors and transformed our venture into a fully-fledged company,” says Alex Sinickas, co-founder of Milkdrop.
Founded by Swinburne alum Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu, Little Green Panda participated in the 2020 Elevate (Accelerator) program. Since then, the company has sold over 3.1 million compostable sugar cane straws distributed across 10 countries. Little Green Panda has also successfully expanded its business model, launching a new line of home-compostable coffee cup products.
“The Swinburne Accelerator Program has changed the way we look at our business. We now have strong structures in place and a clear vision that will ensure continuous success as we grow. We have gained valuable knowledge and a great network of industry experts,” says Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu, founder of Little Green Panda.
Our previous startups
Little Green Panda is a sustainable packaging startup making compostable drinking straws from agriculture waste products. To date, they’ve replaced 3.1 million straws in over 10 countries from polluting our landfills and oceans.
Founders:
Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu
Darine Djendoubi
Teresa Aylott
Loris Campanile
Automation Acoustics is introducing a remote monitoring tool that provides data visualisation (industry 4.0) to industries using automated welding. In doing so, it aims to solve the lack of real-time visibility in production process required to make decisions.
Founders:
Anthony Lele
Armando Manzano
milkdrop is designing a new wave of breast pumps and accessories. They draw on the latest technology in design, materials and manufacturing to help mums express milk faster, more comfortably and with less fuss.
Founders:
Alexandra Sinickas
Andrew Mason
Ravi Bessabava
Daniel Prohasky
Through smartphone interfaces, Fishable is creating simple, accurate and fun ways to measure your catch that helps build knowledge of sustainable fishing practices.
Founders:
Adjunct Professor Jacyl Shaw – Co-Founder
Dr Adrian Collins – Co-Founder and Director
mDetect detectors use particles from space to give X-ray style scans of substances. They can create a 3D image of the density of a region allowing identification, monitoring and evaluation. mDetect can reveal hidden structures that no other technique can – using detectors that are small, robust and cost-effective thanks to their patented microelectronics.
Founders:
Professor Alan Duffy – CEO
Dr Jerome Donovan – COO
Dr Eryadi Masli – CFO
Shanti Krishnan – CTO
Craig Webster – Chief Engineer
Scriibi is an online tool that teachers use to develop their students' written communication skills. Scriibi's data-informed teaching and learning tools integrate into existing frameworks and help teachers develop practices and differentiate learning to ensure students reach their full potential.
Founders:
Samantha and David Nicolaides
Strong Room is a health-tech startup founded to further integrate the healthcare IT ecosystem. Early case studies have shown that the Strong Room pharmacotherapy management software can save pharmacists up to 30 percent in time.
Founders:
Max Mito, Christopher Durre and Kieran Start
Making the unseen visible, SNA Toolbox helps organisations to realise their social capital through its unique technology platform optimising the hidden social structure of organisations.
Founders:
Dean Lusher and Peng Wang
ASPIRE connects resource generators with reuse and recycling users, using technology developed by CSIRO and Data61 to reduce the rate of landfill across Australia. ASPIRE is currently helping 300 businesses covering 15 councils across Victoria with their resource management.
Founder:
Cameron McKenzie
Get the latest updates
Subscribe to the Swinburne Innovation Studio newsletter and be the first to know about our upcoming programs and events.
Frequently asked questions
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Info Night | 5.30pm, Thursday 5 June 2025 |
| Applications open | 8am, Wednesday 4 June 2025 |
| Applications close | 11.59pm, Sunday 6 July 2025 |
| Interviews | Monday 21 July – Friday 25 July 2025 |
| Application outcome | Tuesday 29 July 2025 |
| Program period | Tuesday 5 August – Tuesday 28 October 2025 |
| Venture Cup Pitch Night | Tuesday 28 October 2025 |
It is essential that at least one of the founders is able to attend all the sessions in person; they are not recorded or available online. The funding is tied to the startup’s progress and engagement in the program, and will be paid in installments.
For further details, please watch the Elevate Program 2025 Info Night video. If you still have question, email us at innovationstudio@swinburne.edu.au to arrange a 15-minute online discussion.
It is not essential that you are affiliated with Swinburne to apply. That said, the Elevate Program is designed to add as much value to your venture’s growth as possible, so we will prioritise startups developing solutions in future-focused industries aligned with Swinburne’s research strengths and capabilities, including climate, advanced manufacturing, health and MedTech, space, and AI.
If you’re not currently connected to Swinburne, we encourage you to explore our research expertise, technical capabilities, cutting-edge facilities, industry partnerships, and access to subject matter experts who can support and accelerate your progress. We’re particularly interested in teams tackling real-world challenges in these areas.
Founders are the people who established the company. They share both the risk and reward of creating something from an idea.
Yes, we would love for you to apply for the program.
The expectation is that one founder (or equivalent hours across founders) will be working full-time in the start-up.
No, you retain full ownership of the company including any intellectual property.
Yes, you are still welcome to apply for our program.
No, there is no cost to apply for the Elevate Program. However, all participants are required to have a current Working with Children Check (WWCC) to participate in the program as it's partly delivered on Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus. Learn more about Working with Children.
During the Elevate Program, each participating startup receives $10,000 in equity-free funding, provided in instalments to support your venture’s growth. Additionally, there is a separate $10,000 allocation specifically dedicated to legal and financial support to help you navigate these critical areas with expert guidance.
During and beyond the program, we facilitate introductions to a network of investors as relevant. Promising startups may also be considered for investment by Swinburne Ventures Limited (Swinburne’s dedicated investment arm) which supports high-potential ventures aligned with our focus areas.
Our goal is to not only accelerate your development during the program, but also to open doors to ongoing funding and strategic support as you scale.
Explore more of our programs
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Swinburne Initiate Program
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Swinburne Luminate Program
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Swinburne Initiate Express (Virtual Program)
Want to know more?
If you have any questions, need more information or you're wondering how Swinburne Innovation Studio can help turn your big idea into a real thing, contact us via email at innovationstudio@swinburne.edu.au.