Oxford Edge's StEP Educational Accelerator Turns 30 Students Into Founders

Oxford Edge, a Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the University of Oxford launched by Christ Church and supported by Blenheim Chalcot, has closed its 2026 StEP educational accelerator: an eight-week programme run jointly with Oxford University Innovation that helps students turn early ideas into viable businesses.

This year's cohort of 30 students, ranging from DPhil researchers to undergraduates, spent the summer learning the fundamentals of building a business, from market sizing through to fundraising, mentored throughout by experienced entrepreneurs and investors.

The programme culminated in Demo Day on Thursday 20 August, where nine teams pitched in front of a judging panel of academic and industry leaders. Ictus, developing a wearable device for low-cost seizure detection, took the top prize of £10,000, ahead of Cloq, developing miniaturised, low-cost quantum clocks, and Vivoxa, a portable diagnostics platform.

Congratulations to all nine teams, and to everyone at Oxford Edge on another successful StEP cohort.