What’s the big idea?
Big Idea Challenge is London Met’s flagship annual enterprise competition for university students and recent graduates.
Since its launch in 2014, London Met's Enterprise team have supported more than 200 ideas and championed over 20 category winners through the Big Idea Challenge.
The business pitching competition is open to all current university students and recent graduates, giving those entering the opportunity to turn any idea into a business! Winners receive cash and other prizes designed to support them in further developing and launching their idea into a business.
Whether it’s for a business, a creative experience, a way to make the world a better place or anything else you can imagine, we want to know about it.
Entries for 2025
The deadline to enter an idea into London Met’s Big Idea Challenge will close at 10pm on Friday 28 February 2025.
Need some guidance on what we’re looking for in the ideas within each category? Interested in finding out more about the prizes and competition process? Read through the Big Idea Challenge info pack. It contains everything you need to know about the competition.
Big Idea Challenge categories
Got an idea for a business, social enterprise or creative venture? Discover which category it will fit best in London Met's annual Big Idea Challenge pitching competition. Find out about the different idea categories available to enter for the Big Idea Challenge.
If you have an idea and you want to take it through the process of developing it into a viable business, then this is the ultimate reason why you should apply. Of course, cash prizes and business support are up for grabs, but this will only be valuable for those serious about taking their ideas to the next level!
Each of our Big Idea category winners will receive: cash to support the development of the idea, further support and guidance, plus a guaranteed spot on future programmes with Student Enterprise.
Cash
Each of our category winners will receive a cash grant to help with developing or advancing your idea. Additionally the Grand Champion, selected by a panel of judges, will be awarded an additional cash prize.
Further support
Winners will receive ongoing support and guidance from the Student Enterprise team in order to help push their idea forward. This may include:
- guidance on testing viability and customer acquisition
- logo and branding development support
- support with building an online presence
- advice on business models and strategies
