Innovation Study Tours

Description

Innovation Study Tours by 28DIGITAL, take you beyond the classroom for one intensive week inside a leading innovation hub. Through startup and company visits, hands-on workshops and conversations with founders, researchers, investors and industry experts, you’ll see how ideas become scalable ventures. Each tour is built around a real venture challenge: working with an international group of peers, you’ll map opportunities, test ideas and pitch a practical outcome by the end of the week. The 2027 tours are in Oxford (deep tech, 25–29 January), a major European life-sciences hub (MedTech, 8–12 February) and Silicon Valley (22–26 February). They’re open to students, researchers, young professionals and entrepreneurs, and no prior startup experience is needed.

Objectives

Understand innovation ecosystems from the inside. Learn how leading hubs actually work and how researchers, startups, companies, investors and policymakers interact.
Learn how ideas become ventures. Follow the path from research or concept to a scalable, investable business, including funding, regulation and go-to-market.
Apply learning to a real venture challenge. Map opportunities, test ideas and pitch a practical outcome by the end of the week.
Build an international network. Connect with founders, researchers, investors and industry experts, and with a cohort of peers from across Europe and beyond.
Compare innovation models. See how ecosystems differ in culture, funding and policy, and what each could learn from the others.
Bring ideas home. Leave with insights and contacts you can use in your own projects, ventures, studies or career.

Participant Profile

Innovation Study Tours are open to students, researchers, young professionals, entrepreneurs and innovation ecosystem actors curious about global innovation systems and emerging technologies. Students and researchers connect what they study to real ecosystems and compare innovation models across Europe, the US, Asia, or other emerging hubs worldwide, young professionals gain direct access to companies, VCs and policymakers beyond their home market; entrepreneurs read a new market's regulatory and public–private dynamics from the inside.

No prior startup or international experience is required — applicants must be at least 18 and have enough English to take part in workshops and discussions. Beyond that, the programme is a good fit if your academic or professional background genuinely connects to the tour's theme, you enjoy working in teams and tackling challenge-based projects, you're looking to develop an entrepreneurial or innovation path (or simply gain more hands-on experience in the field), and you're open-minded about learning alongside an international group of peers.

Apply

Location

Oxford,United Kingdom

Get Directions
Moll De Barcelona 1, 08039 Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Get Directions
540 Laguna Street, San Francisco, California 94102, United States

Get Directions

Starting Date

25/01/2027

Ending Date

26/02/2027

Application closing date

30/11/2026 Add to Google Calendar Add to iCalendar

Social Networks

Selection Process

Selection is based primarily on this fit, along with motivation and willingness to actively participate in the programme experience. As part of your application, you'll be asked to briefly describe your current academic or professional background. We aim to bring together a cohort of 15–20 participants per tour at a broadly comparable level, so the pace and depth of the week work well for everyone. We'd encourage you to review the programme's themes and pace carefully beforehand, so your background and expectations match the level of engagement the week requires.

Terms and Conditions

The tuition fee (1000 EUR) includes the attendance to the tour, trainings, visits with lunches during the week. Travel, accommodation or VISA costs are excluded and should be arranged and paid by the participants themselves. A non-refundable application fee is required with your application. If successful, this amount is deducted from the total tuition fee.