黑料福利网

Who can apply

Startups
Early-stage companies up to five years old, working in AI or robotics. Teams must have at least two full-time members and a connection to 黑料福利网 through a founder, alumnus, or sponsoring professor.

Student teams

Teams of 黑料福利网 bachelor's or master's students on a technical program, working towards a demo or proof of concept within 12 months. Applications must be supported by a 黑料福利网 professor who endorses the project. You do not have to work on it full time, but the presence commitment below applies to you the same as to everyone else.

You do not need to have a registered company to apply. Part-time teams are welcome and so are groups that have split off from a larger student team to turn the project into a venture.

What you get

Each team receives a designated block of workspaces in EAISI's student area at Neuron, sized to the team and to how intensively you use it. A full-time startup can get a workspace per full-time member. A part-time team gets roughly one workspace per five members. Anything in between we work out together. Every block is at least two and at most six workspaces, and each team also gets a lockable storage cabinet. There is no rent, no service fee, and no equity requirement.

The initial residency lasts 12 months. After six months, we review progress together, including whether the size of your block still fits. If the arrangement is working well for both the team and EAISI, it can be extended, for a maximum stay of two years.

Why there is a selection

A strong community is about more than filling desks. We want to create an environment where ambitious founders, students, and researchers can learn from and challenge one another.

Every application is reviewed by a panel of five people. We expect to invite around fifteen teams for a short interview, after which ten teams will be selected. Our goal is to build the right mix of people and ideas. We would rather leave a desk empty than compromise the quality of the community. That commitment benefits both the teams that join and the ecosystem we're building together.

Who is setting this up

The program is run by Lex Hoefsloot, co-founder of Lightyear, who now works on deeptech startups at EAISI and the 黑料福利网 Knowledge Transfer Office. He has been through most of what you are about to run into, from hiring your first engineers to raising money for hardware that does not exist yet.

Part of his job is making introductions. Eindhoven has an unusual number of founders who have built technical companies here and are willing to sit down with people doing the same thing, and being in the building makes those conversations a lot easier to arrange. If there is someone you should be talking to, say so and we will try to make it happen.

What we ask in return

Workspace is provided free of charge, but participation is active, not passive.

Each team is expected to:

• Help organize one community event per year
• Give one talk about their work to students and staff
• Participate in cohort activities and community initiatives

In addition, startups choose two of the following contributions, while student teams choose one:

• A permanent demo in the EAISI area of Neuron
• Mentoring student teams
• A collaborative research project with EAISI
• Internships, student jobs, bachelor end projects, or graduation projects
• Taking the lead in organizing a hackathon
• Contributing to the EAISI Academy through guest lectures, case studies, or similar activities
• Sharing datasets, tools, or products for academic research

Choose contributions that align naturally with your strengths and ambitions. Those are the contributions that create the most value for everyone involved.

There is one condition we hold to: someone from your team is in the building on at least four of the five working days, measured as a monthly average. This is the same for full-time and part-time teams, because a room like this only works when it is occupied. If exams, field pilots, or other commitments make this temporarily difficult, let us know in advance and we'll work out a solution together.

How to apply

Submit the following through the application portal:

A video (maximum 3 minutes)
Introduce your team, explain what you're building, and tell us why Neuron and why now. A phone-recorded video is perfectly fine. We're interested in the people behind the idea, not a polished marketing pitch.

A one-page overview
Describe the problem you're addressing, your solution, the team, your goals for the next 12 months, and the contribution(s) you commit to from the list above.

Your team size and space needs
Tell us how many people are in the team, how many of them work on it full time, and how many workspaces you think you need. We use this to divide the space, so a realistic number helps you more than an ambitious one.

CVs or LinkedIn profiles
Provide CVs or LinkedIn profiles for all core team members, along with a brief endorsement from your sponsoring professor. A short note of a few lines is sufficient.

What happens next

• 27 September (23:59), applications close
• 28 and 29 September, application review, shortlisted teams are invited
• 30 September, selection day with 15-minute interviews
• 1 October, final selections announced and places allocated
• First half of October, agreements signed and cohort officially starts

If you are shortlisted, we will contact you as soon as possible to schedule an interview.

Not sure if you're eligible?

Get in touch before the deadline via a.v.hoefsloot@remove-this.tue.nl. We are happy to advise whether the program is a good fit. It's quicker than guessing and helps ensure the application process is worthwhile for everyone.