West of England AHSN Health Innovation Programme (HIP) – applications open!

West of England AHSN Health Innovation Programme (HIP) – applications open!

Applications for the West of England AHSN’s Health Innovation Programme (HIP) are now open.

This intensive, fully funded training programme is suitable for early to mid-stage healthcare / life sciences innovators or entrepreneurs, (from clinical, lived experience or commercial backgrounds), who are seeking support for a health-based product or service. Products / services must have the potential to improve patient care, reduce NHS costs and help us to live healthier lives.


Run in partnership with SETSquared – the global no. 1 university business incubator ­– the HIP has been running since 2015 and was created to specifically address the needs of healthcare innovators and cover core skills in entrepreneurship. The programme delivers high quality coaching, mentoring, and specialist healthcare innovation business development support.

Successful applicants accepted onto the programme will be able to test the validity of their business model, learn to explain the value of their proposition to the health sector and how to navigate the complex NHS landscape.

An interactive and immersive experience, the programme will take place over five half days between Monday 21 November and Friday 26 November 2022. All learning sessions will be delivered virtually (held in the mornings). Optional afternoon networking and 1:1 mentor-sessions will also be available. A fifth and final day of face-to-face pitching and presenting will take place in-person on Monday 28 November in Bristol.

Past graduates of the West of England AHSN’s Health Innovation Programme have included Joshua Steer, Founder of Radii Devices and Neciah Dorh, CEO of FluoretiQ.

Claire Denyer, Innovation and Growth Project Manager at the West of England AHSN said: “We’re really looking forward meeting our next cohort of HIP innovators and hearing about the potential impact that these innovations might have for healthcare.”

Priority will be given to applicants employed in the geographical boundaries of the West of England AHSN. This includes Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon, Wiltshire. However, we also welcome applications from across the rest of the south of England.

Find out more and apply here.

Medilink South West