Conception X Discovery Session at Oxford

Conception X helps PhD students become Venture Scientists – PhD founders who bridge the gap between academia and industry. Whether you’re already working on a startup or you’re interested in learning how to translate and commercialise your research, our programme supports you to accelerate your understanding of entrepreneurship.

Join this session to learn about becoming part of Conception X Cohort 7, which will run from March to November 2024. The programme offers training sessions created specifically for STEM PhD students, access to a nationwide network of experts and funding opportunities, and the opportunity to meet fellow researchers who are exploring career pathways post-PhD.

About the Discovery Session

In this session, you’ll learn everything you need to know about joining our programme. By the end, you’ll feel ready to decide if you want to apply to become part of Cohort 7.

Here’s what to expect:

• Programme overview presentation, including eligibility criteria, timeline, and programme benefits
• Stories from our successful student teams
• Walk-through of the application process
• Q&A with Polly Groves, Conception X HQ & Programme Support Manager

You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about our nationwide Venture Science community, including students like you who want to bring their research out of the lab.

Who should join the session?

PhD students from University of Oxford working on research with commercialisation potential and who are interested in exploring entrepreneurship as a potential career choice.

What is Conception X?

Conception X is a fully funded programme and platform that helps PhD students become Venture Scientists and commercialise their research in impactful ways.

Via a 9-month programme that includes training, coaching and mentoring, we help PhDs launch deeptech startups based on their research, connect with leading members of the deeptech community, and become eligible for innovation grants, awards and venture capital funding.

Our three-year partnership with XTX Ventures supports 6-12 new companies per cohort with a typical cheque size of £100,000.

Over the past 5.5 years, 400+ PhD students across 360+ teams have gone through the programme, with £57M+ capital raised.

Here's what makes us unique

• We take no equity
• We accept PhD students at the idea stage
• Our programme is hybrid (90% online)
• It runs alongside and is compatible with your PhD
• We work with students at universities across the UK
• We are sector agnostic
• We are driven by a tech-for-good angle
• We plug you into our large expert and investor networks
• We offer venture fundraising support

Here's what our alumni say about us:

"The programme is complete magic. Before joining, I had no idea where to start. By Demo Day, we had a working prototype."

- Ksenia Sokolova, Neurosalience

“The approach and progress of my PhD has been significantly improved on the back of some of the things I have learnt at Conception X. Being exposed to the difference between purely problem-based thinking (i.e. academia) and more value-based thinking has been an eye opener and has led me to change the way I implement my research.”

- Zak Shabka, NP-Deep

"By showing me the path ahead and breaking it down into a series of clear steps, the programme has made it feasible for me to start my own company."

- Adam Harris, Myriad Wind