Inventive Pioneers Award

Applications open and launch event: 30 October 2024

We are hosted our Launch Event on Wednesday 30 October 2024, and applications have now opened!

• Application deadline: Wednesday 20 November 2024 at 11.59pm.
• Final shortlisting and presentations: Tuesday 26 November 2024, 1.30–4.30pm.

If you'd like to discuss your ideas and projects, just get in touch or register for one of our regular InnovationRCA Drop In Clinics.

Our Inventive Pioneers Award offers:

• £1,000 cash prize.
• Work in Progress Pre-show advice on how to avoid disclosure and what to present.
• Support in identifying what to patent, and then filing a patent through professional patent attorneys.
• Funding to cover the initial filing costs.
• Automatic shortlisting on InnovationRCA's High Growth Start-up programme, including a place on the Launchpad summer school.

As a graduating RCA student with commercial inventions you can win patent support to protect your ideas and avoid disclosure at your work in progress show or graduation show. You'll also receive patent funding, guidance and commercialisation support.

We also welcome applications from RCA alumni.

We expect RCA students receiving patent support to form a start-up and commit a minimum of three working days per week to the project.

All students receiving patent support are expected to take part in the Start-up Programme selection process. We will automatically consider your application, plus you'll be given a chance to compete for additional seed funding through the Start-up Programme and InnovationRCA's network and RCA Design and Innovation S/EIS Fund I.

Please see the Start-up Programme page for further terms.

If your project is chosen for a patent protection, both you and the RCA will jointly own the intellectual property in the selected work.

You will sign a Profit Share agreement which outlines that the profits from licensing will be split 65% (yourself) and 35% (RCA).

This Profit Share agreement is intended to be temporary: when you form a company it will be replaced by a new agreement whereby the RCA will become a shareholder with typically 1% to 2% equity in your company (depending on the level of resource and investment made into the project by the RCA – and never more than 5%). Any licensing profits would then revert entirely to your company.