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TechLaunch 2026 - From Invention to Impact Submission Form (2026)

 

TechLaunch is an advanced, hands-on entrepreneurship bootcamp modeled after NSF’s I-CorpsTM program that helps researchers and innovators achieve real-world impact with their technologies.

The 2026 edition of TechLaunch is an initiative developed under the UT Austin Portugal Program  in collaboration with ANI - Agência Nacional de Inovação, S.A. and funded by Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and European Union’s NextGenerationEU program, within Component C16 – Digital Transition, Investment C16-i03.02.

The UT Austin Portugal Program invites you to take the first step beyond the lab and into the real world through TechLaunch, a hands-on, immersive experience inspired by the NSF I-Corps™ model. This is not a traditional training program. It’s an opportunity to challenge your assumptions, engage directly with the market, and discover whether your idea has the potential to become something bigger.

With the support of certified U.S. instructors, you will explore real customer needs, test your value proposition, and gain the mindset and tools to transform knowledge into impact.

If you are driven to solve meaningful problems and curious about the real-world potential of your ideas, TechLaunch is your starting point.

 

Before submitting your Expression of Interest, please ensure you have read the Program Announcement and understand the participation requirements and budget model.

 

Please note that you can save your answers and return later to complete and submit the form.

About the Team and the Team Leader
Name of the Team or Project
This is a question help text.
Team Leader Name
This member will serve as the team's main contact and must be designated as either the Entrepreneurial Lead or the Technical Lead.
Team Leader's Main Affiliation Institution
The main affiliation institution must be based in Portugal
Team Leader's Position at the Main Affiliation Institution
Team Leader's Institutional E-mail Address
Team Leader's Telephone or Mobile Phone Number 
Team Leader's Role in the Team
Is the Team Leader a PhD student?
If so, please specify the PhD program and the higher education institution where the Team Leader is enrolled.
Provide a short bio of the Team Leader (maximum 700 characters). The bio may be complemented with a link to an online profile (e.g.,  CIÊNCIAVITAE, LinkedIn).
Other Team Members

Please note that an eligible TechLaunch team must include at least one Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) and one Technical Lead (TL). This constitutes the minimum required team structure.

The Team Leader indicated in the previous section is already counted toward both the core team configuration ( 1 EL + 1 TL) and the maximum number of team members (four).

In addition to the EL and the TL, teams may include:

a Team Mentor (TM);
a Co-Entrepreneurial Lead (Co-EL);
a Co-Technical Lead (Co-TL).

Each of these three roles may be assigned to a maximum of one team member per team.

Provide details for the second Team Member

 

 

 

Provide a short bio of the second Team Member (maximum 700 characters). The bio may be complemented with a link to an online profile (e.g., CIÊNCIAVITAE, LinkedIn).
Would you like to add a third team member?
Provide details for the third Team Member

 

 

 

Provide a short bio of the 3rd Team Member (maximum 700 characters). The bio may be complemented with a link to an online profile (e.g., CIÊNCIAVITAE, LinkedIn).
Would you like to add a fourth team member?
Provide details for the fourth Team Member

 

 

 

Provide a short bio of the fourth Team Member (maximum 700 characters). The bio may be complemented with a link to an online profile (e.g., CIÊNCIAVITAE, LinkedIn).
Has your team been accepted into similar initiatives or bootcamps?
If you answered yes, please list the initiatives
In 900 characters or less, describe why your team applied and what you hope to learn from this program.
About Your Technology and Business Idea
Provide a brief, straightforward description of the core technology, its academic roots, what makes it unique, and its current stage of development, without disclosing proprietary details (maximum 900 characters).
Do you have Intellectual Property (IP)?
Who owns the IP?
What is the status of your IP?

Describe the localized use case where your technology provides a solution, highlight how your research led you to believe a commercial opportunity exists, and focus on how this innovation could provide significant societal impact (maximum of 900 characters).

What type of funding currently supports your technology or business idea? 

Please upload a brief budget plan outlining how your team intends to use the indicative funding available under the TechLaunch program.

The budget should provide a high-level estimate of planned expenses related to:

  • customer discovery and validation activities;
  • participation in the Opening Week in Portugal and the Closing Week in Austin;
  • digital tools, travel, events, and/or prototyping (if applicable).

Please ensure that your proposed budget is:

  • aligned with the eligibility rules described in the Program Announcement;
  • realistic and consistent with your planned activities;
  • within the indicative limit of €30,000 per team.

You MUST use the provided template.

Note: This budget is indicative and will not be binding. All expenses will be subject to prior approval during the program.

  Upload file
  Title Comment File name

Please provide a brief explanation of your proposed budget, outlining how you plan to allocate resources across the different activities (900 characters or less).

Your description should:

  • explain the main priorities (e.g., travel, events, digital tools, prototyping);
  • justify the most significant cost items;
  • demonstrate how the proposed expenses support your customer discovery and validation strategy.
Explain how you plan to use the 100+ TechLaunch interviews to validate your product–market fit and refine your understanding of the problem, customer, and value proposition (maximum of 900 characters).
Declaration and Commitment
Team members must confirm the following:
 
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