£3.56m
Revenue Generated
SparkImpact
Report2026
Making a world of difference to student enterprise
12 Businesses Started
Change! Something that we are well used to in Spark, and in an enterprise capacity change is something which is inevitable and must be approached head on.
Brian Baillie
Head of Business Start-Up, University of Leeds
More from Brian Baillie
We have seen changes in government policy and taxation, change in the economic landscape, issues around war and global challenges. And closer to home, changes in external funding, staffing levels and internal restructuring.
But entrepreneurs rise to these challenges and in Spark we have seen a consistent and sustainable level of activity and impact. Discover has opened doors to previously untapped students and staff. Helix provides a centralised hub of activity. The makerspace ecosystem allows students access to innovation. The academic teaching of enterprise sits closely to the overall strategy of Student Enterprise. And Spark maintains its strong reputation for quality of service, economic and social impact, and a robust strategic plan which has served us well for over 20 years now.
Central to the Spark impact rests with the alumni and business donors. And it is with immense thanks to the Advancement Team who have bought into the core programmes and initiatives we offer and secured significant donations which go to help our next generation of business founders.
You will see that this year we had the largest ever number of Spark Enterprise Scholarships and we are already on target to beat that this year. Being an Enterprise Scholar makes such a difference to our students' lives and it has been so humbling to know just how many donations have come in from Spark alumni businesses. This is a full circle moment for all of us in Spark and we hugely appreciate everyone's support. Both the core team and the wider Spark team feel we are supported by a much larger circle of friends and that is pretty unique – long may that continue.
Next year will see some more change in Spark. My impending retirement in December will open the door for someone else to take up the reigns and grow Spark to yet another level.
In Spark, we embrace change.
Economic impact
The economic impact of Spark businesses throughout 2024 and 2025.
£320k
External funding secured
55
Business Startups
40
Businesses using incubator
62
Jobs Created
7
Patents Awarded
Ownership breakdown
The ownership breakdown of Spark businesses throughout 2024 and 2025.
2%
Biological Sciences
2%
Biological Sciences
2%
Biological Sciences
Faculty breakdown
Breakdown by faculty of Spark Businesses throughout 2024 and 2025.
2%
Engineering and computing
2%
Leeds University Business School
2%
Arts, humanities and Culture
2%
Education, social Sciences and law
2%
Medicine and Health
2%
Biological Sciences
2%
Environment
Business Sectors
The business sectors breakdown of Spark businesses throughout 2024 and 2025.
2%
Biological Sciences
2%
Biological Sciences
2%
Biological Sciences
Spark Businesses 2026
Business Plan Competition
A record year for entries from across campus
From high tech to creative artistry, every sector was represented
The annual Spark Business Plan competition this year saw an increase not only in numbers of entries, but also an increase in the applications from all across campus. The Discover element of the Student Enterprise Strategy, delivered in every faculty, has raised awareness of Spark and enterprise resulting in entries from areas previously untapped.
And this in turn led to a wide and diverse range of winners. From high tech to low tech, from AI innovation to creative artistry, from services to retail, every sector was represented, and applications were impressive.
And what also impressed was the personal effort, research and commercial thought put into those applications. We saw fewer AI generated submissions than ever before and many more well-thought through early stage ideas. Shortlisting and finalists judging was not an easy task.
Enterprise Scholarships
19 Scholarships awarded this year, each worth £3,000 directly to student founders
Supporting Scholarships
With a clear message to donors of the benefits of supporting Spark Enterprise Scholarships, the Advancement team were able to secure more philanthropic donations than ever before. 19 Scholarships were awarded this year, each worth £3000 directly to the student founders, alongside ongoing mentoring and the annual residential bootcamp.
One of this year's scholars, Mustafa Chaudhry said,
'my business, before the Spark Scholarship, was simply a hobby of mine that I had turned into a small side hustle: I manufactured electronics and hardware for people, on a commission basis. Conceptually this was a fairly simple business, and while it was surprisingly busy, ideas of scaling it up remained a pipe dream and nothing more. I applied for an Enterprise Scholarship with my business and the idea to scale it, putting together a brief, amateurish pitch deck outlining this dream of mine.'
'The bootcamp came a few months after and it was an incredibly informative experience. There's a sort of irreplicable motivation and urge that builds inside you after being surrounded by a cohort of similarly driven, skilled, ambitious founders, and having many guest speakers come in to share their advice and wealth of experiences. From everything covering marketing, sales, acquisitions, managing employees; it was so refreshing getting to hear these honest experiences, with many having been through this very program. I left feeling the urge to pursue my ideas with real tenacity, backed by the advice, funding, network, and encouragement that the SPARK team are so willing to provide.'
The bootcamp this year saw more sessions delivered by Spark alumni entrepreneurs, highlighting the closeness of our network. From financial gifting to fund the scholarships, to giving back time and effort to support the early-stage founders, the wider business network and alumni have made such a difference to people's lives.
The scholarship not only delivers intense but practical business training, but also a first and lasting network of like-minded individuals. It provides opportunities and unique interest, it builds confidence and self-belief, and it creates a family. We are constantly humbled by the return of past scholars, many from up to 20 years ago, who are still involved, whether that be through donating or by delivering and supporting – it is all greatly appreciated and gratefully received.
Want to join the program?
Applications open for the 2025/26 Enterprise Scholarship Programme open on Monday 9th Sept and close at 10am on Friday 1st November.
Sir Peter Thompson Celebration of Enterprise Dinner
This year Spark decided to change the format of our annual dinner, and it turned out to be a huge success.
For many years the Sir Peter Thompson Award dinner saw one emerging entrepreneur receive a trophy and cash prize. The event and award for many years were supported by Sir Peter Thompson, and laterally taken on by his friend Michael Collins of Goldcrest Custom Homes, who for the past 6 years has been at the helm.
In 2026 however, we altered course to make the event more of a celebration of all the things that go on in Spark and Discover. Thirteen awards were presented at the dinner, the Sir Peter Thompson Award being one of them. Other trophies went to the winners of the Business Plan Competition, the winners of the Business Simulation Challenge, and two special recognition awards from Nick Howard of Limehouse.
Ume Shah of The Interiors Company in Bradford was presented with the Spark Managers' Award, and the Nexus Awards for Innovation for Spark Supported Businesses saw three founders receiving substantial sums to develop their ventures even further.
The evening event also saw the first screening of the latest Spark film (made by Tell Studios) and brought together Spark founders and alumni, philanthropic donors, the wider business community and enterprise colleagues from around the University.
But the most humbling and proud fact was that this event was entirely funded by donations from Spark alumni businesses. A huge thanks to Buttercrumble, Filamentive, Think Pacific, Autosqueak and SeeAI Ltd. This is a full circle moment and massively appreciated. Thank you.
Women in Innovation Awards
Purple Plaques celebrating Dr Amanda MacCannell and Saile Villegas
Innovate UK Purple Plaques
This year, two Spark businesses were recognised through the installation of Women in Innovation Purple Plaques celebrating the achievements of Dr Amanda MacCannell and Saile Villegas.
The Innovate UK Purple Plaques celebrate female innovators creating impact through science, technology and entrepreneurship while helping make innovation pathways more visible to future generations of female founders.
Both Amanda and Saile chose to host their plaques at the University of Leeds in recognition of the support they received through the University's enterprise ecosystem, particularly through Spark, HELIX and Nexus.
Dr Amanda MacCannell's plaque, unveiled by Professor Margaret Korosec alongside Chantelle Reeves from UKRI, was the first installed within HELIX. Amanda, co-founder of Pathways Open, was recognised for developing innovative approaches to speeding up research and development and drug discovery by connecting biotech companies with the right academic expertise.
A second plaque was later unveiled by Natasha Kalinga (UKRI) and Brian Baillie for Saile Villegas, co-founder of AI company Seeai. Saile began developing her entrepreneurial journey through Enterprise at Leeds and Team Spark before growing a company now working across healthcare, AI and technology.
"When I first joined the University of Leeds, entrepreneurship wasn't even on my radar. I didn't see anyone who looked like me doing it. The recognition reminded me that with the right people around you, a bit of courage and a lot of persistence, you can step into spaces you never imagined yourself in" — Dr Amanda MacCannell
"Recognising women's achievements in this visible, lasting way matters for every woman who walks past these plaques and wonders if there is space for her in innovation, because there is." — Saile Villegas
There is still space on the HELIX wall for future plaques, with the hope that these stories inspire students and early-stage founders to pursue innovation and build successful businesses.
Nexus Innovation Awards for Spark Supported Businesses
The Spark Awards this year mark an exciting milestone with the introduction of the brand-new Nexus Award – accompanied by prize funding for the top three businesses, and a testament to the strength of the entrepreneurial talent coming through Spark.
Wx Labs, founded by Ben Pickering, an Observational Meteorologist, designs novel weather instruments and data collection systems to improve local environmental monitoring and support better weather forecasting.
Discussing Wx Labs' win, Ben explained: "We're delighted to receive the Nexus Innovation Award for Spark Support Business. This funding will help us generate new customer leads through our first exhibitor booth at a key industry conference, as well as support further product trials with potential customers. It is an important step in helping us turn early interest into real commercial opportunities and demonstrate the value of our technology in real-world settings."
Pathways Open, co-founded by Dr Amanda MacCannell and Sandeep Sharda, is on a mission to connect businesses with the right academic minds to solve their research challenges. Having been supported by Spark for one to two years, the business is now gaining real commercial traction — and their £7,500 prize reflects that momentum.
On receiving the award, Dr MacCannell and Sandeep shared: "We are so honoured to receive this award from Spark and Nexus. At Pathways Open, we work every day to connect businesses with the right academic minds for their research challenges, and having that recognised by the University of Leeds is a reminder of why we started. This means everything to us."
The funding will be put to immediate use over the next 90 days. A portion will extend their B2B outreach system – covering both the technical tools and specialist support that are already generating active conversations with pharmaceutical and nutrition brand clients. The remainder will fund attendance at a key industry conference, where Amanda and Sandeep will be presenting Pathways Open to life science and nutrition sector audiences, opening new client conversations and building the pipeline needed to reach their first enterprise revenue milestone.
Compost-It, founded by Husain Alogaily, is tackling one of the most pressing sustainability challenges facing businesses today – food waste. Compost-It helps local businesses recycle their food waste responsibly, and with the support of Spark and Nexus, the business has grown from an initial idea into a fully viable operation.
Nexus itself became Compost-It's first official business customer, a powerful vote of confidence in what Husain is building. Now, with prize funding in hand, the business is ready to scale significantly.
Husain said: "The support Spark and Nexus have given Compost-It has been instrumental to our growth. Taking part in business accelerators here was crucial in turning our initial idea into an actual, viable business, and Nexus believed in us so much that they became our first official business customer! To now receive a significant grant with this award is beyond words – we are truly grateful for everything they have done and the faith they have shown in us."
The prize funding will go directly towards investing in a specialised refuse truck, which will allow Compost-It to increase its operational capacity by 4.5 times – meaning more businesses across West Yorkshire can benefit from a reliable, sustainable food waste collection service.
Could you be next?
The businesses celebrated here are proof of what is possible when great ideas meet the right support. With access to expert mentoring, a vibrant community of fellow founders, and a base in Nexus, there has never been a better time to back yourself and get started.
Entrepreneurs Exchange
Every two months, Spark organises Entrepreneurs Exchange, an event which brings together our young entrepreneurs to a round table to discuss their issues, problems, good news stories and successes.
It is a great forum to hear from other business owners and share best practice and commercial opportunities. Guest speakers from the alumni donor community and Spark alumni businesses bring an added element of learning about the reality of the commercial world and the relaxed feel of the meeting means that everyone is welcome and included.
Entrepreneurs Exchange is a fabulous opportunity for alumni entrepreneurs to give back to the University and truly engage with the business leaders of the future.
Discover Enterprise
Discover is the entry point to the University's enterprise strategy — Discover, Learn, Launch — widening access to enterprise for students across all faculties and disciplines. It creates clear, accessible starting points for those who may never have considered themselves "entrepreneurial", helping them explore innovation, build practical skills and see new possibilities within their own subject area. This year, students engaged through a range of experiential, cocurricular opportunities designed to build confidence and capability. Many arrived simply curious; many left with stronger ideas, greater self-belief and a clearer sense of how enterprise can shape their academic and professional journey. Discover connects students to academic enterprise learning delivered by CEES and supports those ready to take their next steps with Spark, ensuring that curiosity can evolve into action.
Engaging Students within their discipline
Mini Business Bootcamps
These sessions introduce students to ideation, validation and pitching in a supportive environment. Delivered across six faculties this year, they help students build confidence, test ideas and experience enterprise in practice, while hearing directly from alumni entrepreneurs about their journey. Around 90% of students arrived without a business idea, and within four hours every team had developed and pitched a credible business model.
Engaging students cross-faculties
Business Simulation
The Business Simulation Competition gives students the opportunity to run a virtual company as a team, making strategic choices in a realistic but low-risk environment. Students can develop their decision-making skills in practice and reflect on their experience by presenting their strategy to guest alumni judges. The competition, held once per semester, encourages collaboration across faculties and provides a structured way to experience enterprise first-hand.
Earthshot Entrepreneurs Club
The Earthshot Entrepreneurs Club brings together students from different faculties to explore innovation through the lens of sustainability. Structured around the five Earthshot themes, sessions are held in HELIX and encourage interdisciplinary discussion and practical idea development. Every other session features a guest entrepreneur working in sustainability, giving students insight into real-world journeys and pathways into impact-led innovation.
Engaging Staff
Enterprise Champions Network
The Enterprise Champions Network brings together academic staff, professional services colleagues and entrepreneurs who champion enterprise skills across the University. Through regular learning lunches and shared discussion, the network encourages collaboration and shared understanding of enterprise and the EntreComp framework. It strengthens cross-disciplinary connections and helps embed enterprise more widely across Leeds.
Outreach
In 2026, Spark accelerated its mission to make enterprise a visible, vibrant and accessible part of the University of Leeds experience. From inspiring Year 11 pupils taking their first steps onto campus to empowering final-year students developing solutions with real-world impact, Spark demonstrated that enterprise isn't a niche activity — it's a powerful skillset for every student, in every discipline.
Thomas Transition Programme
Reach for Excellence Summer School
Spark delivered a dynamic, hands-on workshop for Year 11 students on this residential programme led by the Contextual Outreach Team. The session brought enterprise to life, showing young learners how university can fuel their ambitions, creativity and confidence.
Social Sciences Summer School
At the Year 12 student-life carousel, Spark showcased how enterprise is woven into the Leeds experience. Students discovered that no matter what subject they choose, entrepreneurial thinking can elevate their studies, their opportunities and their future.
These activities delivered standout results
Raised aspirations among school-age learners — especially those from underrepresented backgrounds — by highlighting clear, achievable pathways into university and enterprise.
Positioned entrepreneurship as a defining feature of student life at Leeds, not just an optional extra.
Strengthened cross-university partnerships, connecting faculties, industry partners and professional services around a shared commitment to innovation.
"The Contextual Outreach team is incredibly grateful for the ongoing collaboration and support from Matthew, Marj, and the wider Spark Team. Their involvement in our residential projects, including the Thomas Transition Programme and Reach for Excellence, adds immense value. By introducing students to entrepreneurship and business development, Spark highlights a unique, exciting dimension of the university experience that many may not have previously considered." — Jen McHale
Throughout 2026, Spark continued to expand its influence across the University, championing widening participation and driving a culture of creativity and innovation. Through workshops, outreach and the celebration of student success, Spark is building a bold, inclusive environment where enterprise is part of every student's journey — whatever their background, subject or ambition.
Thank you
from the Spark team to all our donors, supporters and business founders.
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