Innovation and Impact Fund (IIF): Entrepreneurship Programme Student Stream

The University considers its continuous contribution to society by allowing students to create greater knowledge transfer as part of its endeavour to provide quality education. To keep up this effort and provide career development aids, the University encourages and supports students to generate innovative ideas, create opportunities, and master risk and failure while engaging in their formal learning and teaching. To this end, the Entrepreneurship Programme under the University’s Innovation and Impact Fund (IIF) is designed to support students to create a positive impact on society while developing entrepreneurial capacity and spirit. 

The primary purpose of the Programme is to promote entrepreneurship at LU by encouraging students to lead meaningful projects using their academic knowledge. Grant recipients can use the fund to develop prototypes for new products or proof of a new concept that will lead to or is aimed at starting an NGO, social enterprise or company for impact on humanity or commercialising outputs of research work conducted under LU.

Eligibility for Student Stream

• Application is open to all full-time students of Lingnan University. 
• There should be at least one full-time student (undergraduate, taught postgraduate, or research postgraduate) in the team who will act as the Project Leader (PL).
• The Project Leader may invite alumni and external experts to join the team. 
• The project should be related to the Project Leader's academic discipline or demonstrate a broad application of interdisciplinary knowledge in the liberal arts curriculum.  
   

Funding Support

• The maximum funding amount is HKD30,000 and will be provided on a reimbursement basis. 
• The use of funds should comply with the University's rules and regulations (e.g. on purchasing). Consultation with LEI staff before purchasing is strongly advised, to ensure compliance. 
• Unspent funds, if any, will need to be returned to the IIF upon project completion. 
• The fund is a token subsidy and can be held concurrently with other subsidies, funding and sponsorships. However, applicants are required to declare and report details of such financial support at the time of application or as soon as they are rewarded. 

Application Deadline

Applications close every 1st of September, November, January, March and May. 

Application Process

• Applicants are required to complete the application form and submit a proposal (sample) as part of the application process. 

Project Proposal

The project proposal should be limited to 6 pages (in 12-point font) and include the following:

• CVs of Project Leader and project team members;
• Project title and an executive summary;
• How the project may meet the assessment criteria;
• Description, format, and schedule of activities (e.g. problem statement/ opportunity statement, proposed solution/ business idea, objectives, business model, competitive advantages of the product/service over the current competitors, date, time, duration, venue, marketing strategies, and the target number of participants, etc.);
• Information of the community partner(s), investor(s), and/or NGO(s);
• Type and expected number of target beneficiaries;
• Revenue expected to be generated;
• Expected outcomes, achievements, impact, and contributions of the project on:
  • target beneficiaries;
  • the local community being engaged; and
  • students.
• Budget: 
  • expenses (e.g. staff cost, marketing/activities cost); 
  • amount of funds requested; 
  • income (e.g. programme fee, contribution by volunteers, etc.); and
  • other sources of financial support (e.g. donation, sponsorship, etc.).

• Key Performance Indicators and Measurement (i.e. how the impact/performance will be measured) on 

  • target beneficiaries; 

  • the local community being engaged; 

  • commercial viability; and

  • overall project evaluation; 

• Sustainability of the project/business

• Plan on how to share the project outcomes and impact with the Lingnan community and the wider public

• Capability of project team (Highlight the role of Lingnan students in the project)

• Applications to any other funding sources (rejected / pending approval / to be submitted) 

Applicants with preliminary ideas are welcome to meet with LEI for advice and comments before drafting a comprehensive proposal.

Successful applicants will be disqualified and/or, where applicable, be required to return funding granted if he/she provides an false or misleading information in the application process.

Assessment Criteria

Assessment will be based on the following: 

• Potential of creating significant impact leading to improvement in the quality of life for the community or raising professional standards or business opportunities in the industry
• Comprehensiveness, originality, and innovativeness of the project
• Feasibility and sustainability of the project
• Quality of the execution plan
• Commercial viability and potential to attract additional investment
• The team and proposed partners’ professional capability
• The extent of social, economic, environmental, and cultural impact on the beneficiaries
• Concrete partnership with the community partners/NGOs
• Active and extensive participation of LU students

Final Report

The Project Leader is required to submit a final report within one month upon the completion of the project. The final report should include:

• An account of the activities carried out (with information on the date, time, venue, number of participants, etc);
• An evaluation of the project with details on: 
  • Impact of the project against agreed objectives;
  • Results achieved;
  • Use of the Fund;
  • Ways of disseminating the project results or findings inside and outside of campus;
  • Obstacles encountered and areas for improvement; and
  • Feedback and evaluation by beneficiaries (e.g. surveys, focus groups, etc.) and, if applicable, LU students (e.g. learning reports, reflective journals, questionnaires, focus groups, etc.).
• Further developments and sustainability of the project;
• A financial statement with all the original receipts for expenses incurred within the project period;
• A video and/or photo CD of all the project activities. 

LEI will arrange regular meetings to review the progress during the project implementation phase. Upon completion of the projects, project teams may be invited to present their findings and outcomes to the University community and the wider public. LEI and other units of the University, such as OCPA and ORKT, may also use the materials provided in the report for publicity purposes.

For more information, please contact LEI at 2616-8074 (Chad Chan) or through email at lei@ln.edu.hk