FounderHUB | MedTech Incubator Program
Over four short weeks, gain the skills, knowledge, and mindset to turn your lightbulb moment into a startup idea that can create REAL impact.
FounderHUB feels fast because it is. With the support of our facilitators, we'll help you understand the importance of validating your idea and the impact it may have for the future. FounderHUB quickly helps you unlock the next steps so you can keep moving forward.
Best of all, FounderHUB is a free program, run after-hours as a mix of in-person and online interactive workshops. If you've been looking to explore your side hustle or passion project, this is your sign to do it—without interfering with your nine to five.
Free, expert-led program: Access a program valued at approximately $1,700, at no cost, with practical workshops, startup resources and guidance from experienced facilitators.
Pitch for prizes: Compete for prizes designed to help accelerate your startup and support your next stage of growth.
Pathway to pre-accelerator program: Participants may be invited to progress into one of Activator's pre-accelerator programs, with the opportunity to access equity-free seed funding.
Join a thriving innovation community: Connect with like-minded founders, researchers, clinicians and industry experts, build valuable relationships, and become part of a supportive startup ecosystem.
Build startup skills that matter: Learn how to validate your idea, understand customer needs, develop your business model, refine your value proposition, and build the foundations for a successful startup.
FounderHUB is for aspiring and early-stage founders developing innovative solutions in MedTech, HealthTech or SportsTech. We welcome applications from RMIT students, staff, researchers and alumni, as well as founders from outside RMIT. Successful applicants will typically have:
An idea that addresses a real healthcare, medical, or sports-related challenge
A curiosity to explore entrepreneurship and build a startup around your innovation
Relevant clinical, scientific, technical, research, industry or lived experience
A solo founder or a team of co-founders committed to bring an idea to life
Application |
Accepting Aplications Now |
| Applications close | Sunday, 6 September 2026 |
| Program start | Tuesday, 22 September 2026 |
| Program end | Thursday, 15 October 2026 |
| Showcase pitch event (in-person) | Wednesday, 21 October 2026 |
Duration: 2 hours (Tuesday, 5.30pm-7.30pm)
In these sessions, you will get to know frameworks, tools, and methods to help progress your founder journey. Here is where you will meet and spend time with the founders in your cohort.
Duration: 1.5 hours (Thursday, 12pm-1.30pm)
We know that life get busy so your second weekly workshop will be hosted online. During this session we will land more of the concepts to refine your startup idea.
In person workshop (1.5 hours): Frame your idea
Build your entrepreneurial foundation and gain a better understanding of the problem you are solving, your idea and the user it affects.
Online workshop (1.5 hours): Understand your market and user
Apply entrepreneurial research methods to discover more about your industry, market and customers to create new opportunities moving forward.
In person workshop (1.5 hours): Design value and impact proposition
Harness strategic insights to identify customer desired gains and existing pains, and develop a compelling value proposition that ensures desirability, feasibility, impact, and viability. Learn to identify, define, and communicate your business impact based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Online workshop (1.5 hours): Customer experience design
Using user journey and stakeholder mapping tools to land your customer research and design products/ services focused the user experience optimise your startup success.
In person workshop (1.5 hours): Prototyping and testing
Master the essential principles of prototyping for your business idea and learn how to create rapid in-expensive prototypes to test, validate and refine your solution.
Online workshop (1.5 hours): Build your business model
Create a winning business model by utilising the lean canvas to map key components such as target market, value proposition, channels, revenue streams and cost structures.
In person workshop (1.5 hours): Sell your vision
Use the power of storytelling and pitching to captivate your audience and effectively communicate your idea and secure buy-in from your stakeholders and potential users.
In person pitch night (2.5 hours): Time to show off your startup idea!
Showcase your pitch to a panel of experts from RMIT Activator's community, who will offer valuable feedback, advice, and guidance to accelerate your business growth and success.
That’s okay — this is just the first of many cohorts we have planned. If the timing isn’t quite right or the focus doesn’t align with your venture, let us know you're interested and we’ll keep you in the loop. Simply register your interest using the form below, and we’ll be in touch when future opportunities open.
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
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