University
of VirginiaInnovates
For studentsFor UVA faculty & staffContact

On Grounds

For students.

Where to walk in, what you can apply for, who will take your call — and what your own school already offers.

Three ways in

You do not need a company, a co-founder or a finished plan. Describe the idea once and you get routed to everything else.

Walk inThe Foundry

Any school, any major, no application.

9 Elliewood Ave, on The Corner

CompeteE-Cup

Three stages a year, five tracks, about $100,000 in all.

Build over the summerBatten i.Lab

Ten weeks, $5,000–$10,000, and a Demo Showcase at the Rotunda.

Money you can apply for

Every fund here is open to students. The amount is what a team can receive — not what it has to raise first.

ProgramWho it’s forAmount
VentureForwardStudents, faculty & staff (Engineering)Up to $1,000 new · $2,500 returning
Batten i.LabStudents, alumni, faculty & staff$5,000–$10,000 per venture
Batten Grants & FellowsStudents & recent graduates$1.5M+ granted since 2020
Galant ChallengeUVA student, alumni, faculty & staff venturesUp to $6M from investors (2026)
VIPC / Virginia Venture PartnersVirginia startups$50K launch grants · pre-seed to $250K

Who to call

Two people who can point you at the rest of the map.

Brian Breslin

Director, The Foundry · Director, Student Entrepreneurship

The Foundry

Abby Fifer Mandell

Director, Galant Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship · Senior Lecturer of Commerce

Galant Center

What your school offers

The Schools layer

Each school has its own on-ramp, and some are thinner than others. If yours is thin, the Foundry and the University-wide minor are open to you anyway.

SchoolWhat’s there
College & Graduate School of Arts & Sciencesmost students · no unit
School of Engineering & Applied ScienceCoulter · VentureForward
School of Medicine46% of all ventures
School of Data Scienceindustry partners pgm
Darden School of Business · Batten InstituteBatten Institute
McIntire School of Commerce · Galant CenterGalant Center
Batten School of Leadership & Public PolicySocial E-ship Minor
School of LawE-ship Clinic · IP Center
School of Nursingno named program
School of ArchitectureDesign minor
School of Education & Human Developmentminor electives
School of Continuing and Professional Studies6 sites statewide
UVA Wise and UVA|NOVAUVA beyond Grounds

Everything open to you

Ways to engage
$100K · 3 stages
E-Cup

The University-wide competition that seeds student ideas.

2,000+ a year
Galant Center

The shared entry point for undergraduate entrepreneurship.

22 teams · 5 schools
Batten i.Lab

Darden’s 10-week summer incubator, open to all of UVA.

~45 teams a year
VentureForward

Small, fast grants that get Engineering teams started.

$37M since 2012
Galant Challenge

McIntire’s annual investor showcase for UVA ventures.

E-ship Clinic · IP CenterStrong
Law

Real legal counsel for real startups across UVA and Charlottesville.

$1.5M since 2020
Batten Grants & Fellows

Grants and fellowships that keep founders founding.

Galant CenterStrong
McIntire

The University-wide front door for undergraduate entrepreneurship.

Social E-ship MinorStrong
Batten Leadership

Home of the pan-University Minor in Social Entrepreneurship.