Activation Partners
Empowering talent and supporting science translation across our opportunity spaces
Live opportunities + events
Explore the latest opportunities to engage with our Activation Partners and see what events are coming up.

5050 Cohort Four
Over 14 weeks, you’ll work with the Fifty Years team to answer the following questions: How do I turn breakthrough science into a startup? Am I addressing a problem with a large enough market? How do I recruit a world-class team? Am I the right person to do it?
Rolling applications are open.

Could AI transform your research?
Pillar VC + ARIA are looking for major science challenges, datasets, or high impact ideas where Encode Fellows could collaborate to translate frontier research into venture-scale companies and real world impact.
This is an open, rolling invitation rather than a formal application.
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From navigating business culture in Japan to unpacking the changes AI is bringing to the lab, Venture Café are tackling some big topics at this week’s Thursday Gathering.
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HardTech Apéro returns to London to bring together the founders, investors and operators building the next generation of real-world technology.
In partnership with Kineo Finance, the evening focuses on the hard realities of scaling hardware businesses: raising the right capital, building production capability, navigating long sales cycles and getting breakthrough technologies into market.
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Whether you’re a researcher with an idea you’re considering spinning out, an aspiring founder looking to join an innovative venture, or simply curious about the entrepreneurial opportunities emerging from biotech and life sciences research, this event is for you.
Discover how the Nucleate UK Activator Programme supports researchers and emerging entrepreneurs on their journey from scientific discovery to venture creation. We’ll also be joined by NWBI (North West Biotech Initiative), a Manchester-based community supporting the growth of the North West’s biotech and life sciences ecosystem.
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Serving as an official fringe event to the Fintech Festival, this session will bring together sector leaders and innovators to explore what it really takes to start a fintech business in Scotland and scale internationally.
From alternative funding models and growth strategies to robust security frameworks, we will dive deep into the people and ideas powering the next generation of fintech companies.
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Spectral + Spatial Technologies Transforming Life Science Discovery
What could you discover if you could see biology in greater depth, detail and context?
In partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific, join for an evening exploring how advances in spectral flow cytometry and spatial imaging are opening new ways to understand cells, tissues and complex biological systems , and creating new possibilities across biological research and drug discovery.
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Selected founders will take the stage to pitch their ventures, share their progress and connect with the investors, businesses, mentors and innovators who can help them take the next step.
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Explore The Next Generation of Biotech With Nucleate UK
Join for an evening celebrating the Nucleate community and the next generation of biotech innovation. Hear from Activator alumni and industry experts as they share their experiences, insights and perspectives on turning breakthrough science into transformative ventures.
Whether you’re a researcher exploring entrepreneurship, an experienced biotech leader looking to give back, or simply curious about what’s happening at the frontier of life sciences, come along to meet the community and discover where you could fit in.
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Explore The Next Generation of Biotech With Nucleate UK
Join for an evening celebrating the Nucleate community and the next generation of biotech innovation. Hear from Activator alumni and industry experts as they share their experiences, insights and perspectives on turning breakthrough science into transformative ventures.
Whether you’re a researcher exploring entrepreneurship, an experienced biotech leader looking to give back, or simply curious about what’s happening at the frontier of life sciences, come along to meet the community and discover where you could fit in.
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Explore The Next Generation of Biotech With Nucleate UK
Join for an evening celebrating the Nucleate community and the next generation of biotech innovation. Hear from Activator alumni and industry experts as they share their experiences, insights and perspectives on turning breakthrough science into transformative ventures.
Whether you’re a researcher exploring entrepreneurship, an experienced biotech leader looking to give back, or simply curious about what’s happening at the frontier of life sciences, come along to meet the community and discover where you could fit in.
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More information to follow...
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In partnership with HerFuture, a community dedicated to empowering women in technology by connecting talent with opportunity through career events, mentorship, workshops, and partnerships with inclusive employers, this summit brings together ambitious women and leading tech companies that are actively hiring.
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Driving ROI, Social Impact and Talent Growth in Manchester
Find out how you can connect your business with high-impact social organisations at the tech sector engagement event in partnership with the Manchester Tech for Good Catalyst Programme at Venture Café Manchester.
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Moonfire Founder Pulse is a high-energy, in-person event designed for the city’s tech builders to collaborate, create, and connect. Ditching traditional panels, attendees bring real problems and build tangible solutions live during the evening. With a dynamic mix of builder-led discussion and hands-on sprinting, participants leave not just with new insights, but with working outputs and meaningful connections grounded in shared challenges.
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One year on from our launch, we're bringing together the founders, researchers, investors, corporates, public sector leaders and ecosystem partners who have helped shape Venture Café Manchester into one of the city's most connected innovation communities.
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From Innovation to Adoption in Greater Manchester
The Challenge AI Labs will bring together corporates, SMEs, communities, academics and students to solve Greater Manchester’s challenges in their four frontier sectors.
The first of these unique Labs focuses on health, in partnership with Health Innovation Manchester and organisations across Greater Manchester. Challenges are shaped openly by the people who understand them best – including those who own the problem and those most affected by it.