Training
Guiding future founders to make an impact.
Wherever you find yourself on your entrepreneurial journey, we have tried and tested training courses that will enable you to launch your business and make a purposeful impact. Delivered by SETsquared Bristol innovation experts and industry leaders, our courses have a proven track record of working with aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs who are driven by a desire for meaningful results.
Shaped by the brightest ideas and boldest innovators, these courses can take you where you need to go.
- All
- Idea Development
- Ideation
- Personal Development
Pathfinder: Explore new ideas
Discover how to create innovative solutions to complex problems in this fast-paced and interactive idea-generation workshop. You’ll be taught approaches to divergent and convergent thinking to enable you to think more creatively and with a broader perspective. You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of your own motivations and your path forward.
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In-person workshop – Bristol 
1-day
Map: Find your path
Build a practical understanding of the commercialisation process and what it takes to thrive in a business environment. Whether you’re looking to progress into the corporate world or expand an idea you have for a new technology through a startup or SME, you’ll gain clarity on the most suitable direction of travel by mapping out a strategic way forward. Tap into the inspiration, expertise and resources of the SETsquared Bristol community, where innovation experts will enable you to get your ideas off the ground. will enable you to get your ideas off the ground.
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Online- 4 x 20-minute videos, plus exercises
Self-paced
Shield: Guard your innovation
Find out how to protect your ideas and research with this comprehensive workshop on Intellectual Property (IP). The course will help you understand how IP is owned and managed, and you can ask our legal experts the questions you need answered.
Read more- In-person workshop – Bristol
- Half day
Compass: Progress with confidence
Hone your commercial skills and work with expert professionals to assess the viability of your business idea. This course includes seminars, workshops, mentoring and networking to help you take your business plan to the next level. You’ll have access to peer support from like-minded people who are also working on their business ideas, allowing you to build a workable understanding of everything from market research and intellectual property to financial strategy, business models and value chains. By the end of the course, you will know if your idea is ready to be launched as a business. You will also have pitched your idea to a panel of experts whose feedback and recommendations will guide you on the next steps of your entrepreneurial journey.
Read more- In-person course - Bristol
- 3.5 days
- 16 study modules
Beacon: Build a persuasive pitch
Learn about the importance of clearly communicating your ideas and research by practising how to successfully translate and pitch your work to different audiences. The workshop will see you gain valuable experience by understanding how to articulate your ideas in a way that speaks to your peers, other professionals, potential collaborators, business leaders and government figures. You will leave the workshop with an elevator pitch that will serve you on your growth trajectory.
Read more- In-person workshop - Bristol
- Half day
Explore: Shift into commercial readiness
Learn how to translate your ideas into real-world applications to become commercially ready. During the 3 days, you will work in a multi-disciplinary team of three to four people and be matched with an SME and a business mentor to tackle a business challenge. This will equip you with an operational understanding of industry challenges, ranging from finding a new market for a technology, to scoping out potential customers and taking a responsible innovation approach to solution development. On the final day you will present your business solution to the SME.
Read more- In-person course - Bristol
- 3 days
Mission: Drive transformative change
Apply your experience for the benefit of the world with the support of expert innovators. Working in cross-disciplinary teams of 12 to 15 university researchers, alongside corporate and community leaders, you will learn how to design and create a completely novel solution to a global grand challenge such as AI and data, ageing society, clean growth and the future of mobility. Through advice and coaching from commercial and academic mentors, this is an exceptional opportunity to make an impact with your work. At the end of your Mission, you will present your solution with your team.
Read more- In-person - Bristol
- 12 days over 3 months
Navigator: Lead the way
Unlock your leadership potential through this online training course, which will give you confidence in project planning, managing and being part of a team, effective communication, presentation skills and understanding unconscious bias. Through six videos, as well as access to resources and SETsquared Bristol’s peer network, you will learn influential skills that strengthen your capabilities as a leader.
Read more- Online
- 6 x 20-minute videos, plus exercises
- Self-paced