TechAccel Grants

• McGill student teams of 2-4 people where at least one team member is a current Faculty of Engineering student (undergraduate, graduate, or postdoc)

• Lead Applicant:

  • Must be a McGill student (undergraduate, graduate, or postdoc) enrolled full time (all faculties are eligible)

  • The lead applicant must be returning as a full or part time student for at least one more semester (for example, if you are applying for the Fall TechAccel Program the lead applicant must be returning in the Winter semester and if you are applying for the Winter or Summer TechAccel Program they must be returning in the Fall)

• Teams who are using the funds to advance an entrepreneurial project that is a technologically-based/innovation-driven idea

• Startup ventures/projects that have some customer/stakeholder validation. If you are at the idea stage where little to no customer discovery or validation has been completed, we suggest applying for a TechAccel Pre-Grant. The Lean Startup Methodology and Customer Development Model are used in order to get an in-depth understanding of customers and their problems so that budding entrepreneurs can strengthen their focus of product development as well as their marketing and sales activities. The Phase 1 process of Customer Discovery is very important since an idea is only a hypothesis until it is tested and validated.

• A team that already has an established business model with recurring revenues is not eligible.

• A team that has prior funding of over $25,000 is not eligible.

• A team’s additional funding sources will be taken into consideration when reviewing a grant application.

Free Resources Available Here!

• McGill students teams of 2-4 people 

• Lead Applicant: 

  • Must be a McGill undergraduate student enrolled full time (all faculties are eligible)

  • The lead applicant must be returning as a full or part time student for at least one more semester (for example, if you are applying for the Fall TechAccel Program the lead applicant must be returning in the Winter semester and if you are applying for the Winter or Summer TechAccel Program they must be returning in the Fall)

• Startup ventures/projects that have some customer/stakeholder validation. If you are at the idea stage where little to no customer discovery or validation has been completed, we suggest applying for a TechAccel Pre-Grant. The Lean Startup Methodology and Customer Development Model are used in order to get an in-depth understanding of customers and their problems so that budding entrepreneurs can strengthen their focus of product development as well as their marketing and sales activities. The Phase 1 process of Customer Discovery is very important since an idea is only a hypothesis until it is tested and validated.

• A team that already has an established business model with recurring revenues is not eligible

• A team that has prior funding of over $25,000 is not eligible

• A team’s additional funding sources will be taken into consideration when reviewing a grant application

• TechAccel Project Grant (Winter 2023 Cohort) : Application deadline is January 15, 2023, 11:59PM (ET)

• You will need to attach the following completed templates to your application. 

  • Attachment 1:  TechAccel Grant_Startup Venture Information and Project Description

  • Attachment 2:  Budget, milestones, stakeholder, analysis and gantt chart

Free Resources Available Here!

• Evaluation Criteria:

  1. Level of technological and business innovation. Does the team have sufficient competitive advantage/differentiation from similar ideas?

  2. Educational potential/experiential learning opportunity for students. Will the grant contribute to the team acquiring new business and technical skills?

  3. Clearly defined and validated problem. Is the idea/solution appropriate for the problem identified?

  4. Plan to build and test an MVP to try and achieve product-market fit. Have appropriate milestones been identified in order to advance the idea towards a viable business/solution?

  5. Level of market and impact potential.

  TechAccel Project Grant:

  The McGill Engine team can make recommendations for changes to the budget and uses of funds that are required for the acceptance and funding of the request. The level of funding requests per project is expected to follow the level of maturity (e.g. early-stage projects receive smaller amounts in order to prove the concept, later-stage projects can receive greater amounts since there is less technological risk) and the nature of the technology (e.g. app development receives smaller amounts than medical device development since less funding is required).

• Allowable Project Expenses (purchases made after award notification):
  • Hardware parts and materials
  • Software licenses (if cannot get free)
  • Server hosting (if cannot get free)
  • Contractors, outside developer fees up to 25% of the grant
• Non-Allowable Project Expenses:
  • Items not directly related to the team project, gifts, alcohol
  • Incorporation fees
  • Team outings, meals
  • Personal computer or phone
  • Courses
  • Rent for company or housing
  • Contractors, outside developers exceeding 25% of the grant

The amount of funding awarded per project is expected to follow the level of maturity (e.g. early-stage projects receive smaller amounts in order to prove the concept, later-stage projects can receive greater amounts since there is less technological risk) and the nature of the technology (e.g. app development receives smaller amounts than medical device development since less funding is required).

Yes, an online information session was held on January 10th from 5:30-6:30 PM ET. If you missed the info session, book an online or in-person appointment.

TechAccel Project Grant (lead applicant will be returning the following semester): The grant will be awarded in full to the lead applicant at the start of the program in the form of a stipend. At both the mid-term and final report, a detailed account of how the funds were used is required along with receipts proving the purchases took place. All unused funds at the end of the program must be returned. The lead applicant will receive a T4A tax slip.   

TechAccel Summer Stipend: The grant will be awarded in installments throughout the program in the form of a stipend. The lead applicant will receive a T4A tax slip.

• The winter program runs for 16 weeks (3.5 months) from Jan 30th 2023 to May 19th 2023

• Grant Reimbursement: The grant will be provided at the start of the program in the form of a stipend. At both the mid-term and final report a detailed account of how the funds have been used is required along with receipts proving the purchases took place. Any unused funds at the end of the program will be returned and the lead applicant will receive a T4A tax slip. 

• Reporting: Progress and final reports are due to the Engine's associate director and the team's assigned mentor showing progress, outcomes/impacts/learnings, use of funds, and next steps.

• Mentorship: A TechAccel mentor will be assigned to the TechAccel grantees in order to help progress the project and accelerate the learnings for the team, under the following Mentoring Guidelines and Commitment.

• Empowered Startups: Each team is expected to complete all 6 online training modules and corresponding activities. Teams could be exempt from completing the Empowered Startups training modules depending on their previous experience with the Lean Startup Methodology.

• Cohort Check Ins: Every 2-3 weeks there will be group check ins to see how progress is being made and to discuss the completed Empowered Startup modules. At least one member from each team is expected to participate in each check-in. 

• Outreach Activities: Teams must be willing to assist the Faculty of Engineering and the McGill Engine in outreach activities pertaining to technological innovation and entrepreneurship.

• Giving back: The McGill Engine does not take equity in student companies. There is an expectation, but no requirement, that participating students will make a non-binding charitable pledge to McGill Engine aimed at sustaining the activities of the McGill Engine Centre and helping the next generation of student innovators and entrepreneurs that the Centre supports. Funding is not conditional on a student signing a pledge.

• TechAccel Project Grant: Yes, all levels of study are welcome to apply. Please note, the lead applicant must be a Co-Founder of the startup and student (undergraduate, graduate, or postdoc) registered full-time in a McGill Faculty of Engineering program in good academic standing. 

• TechAccel Summer Stipend Grant: Only undergraduate students are eligible. Please note, the lead applicant must be a Co-Founder of the startup and an undergraduate student registered full-time in a McGill Faculty of Engineering program in good academic standing.

• See the eligibility section for more details. 

• Grant comparisons available here.

• Empowered Startups Platform is an intuitive digital platform that delivers comprehensive training, seamlessly paired with optimized, easy-to-use tools and mentor touchpoints, to transform your TechAccel idea into a validated business model. This startup incubation platform is used by universities, startup organizations, and research and development facilities around the world called.

• The platform has 6 online training modules covering the following topics:

1. Introduction to Lean Startup Methodology

2. Building Your Lean Canvas

3. Business Archetypes and Traction Models 

4. Customer/Problem Interviews

5. Validate Your Solution

6. Venture Report, Pitch & Program Summary

• Acceptance emails are usually sent out within 2-3 weeks after the application deadline.

• Yes, we recommend having your application reviewed by the Engine's Associate Director before submitting it. Book your appointment today.

• You can apply for an additional TechAccel grant if you have not received the maximum award of $2,500. 

• If you have already received a maximum of $2,500 with either 1 or multiple TechAccel Grants, you are not longer eligible