Student Innovation by LiU
Student Innovation by LiU is a free, publicly-funded entrepreneurship support organization that provides coaching, events, workspace, and challenge-based learning to students at Linköping University across its two campuses in Linköping and Norrköping, Sweden.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLinköping, Sweden
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Student Innovation by LiU does
Student Innovation by LiU is a non-commercial entrepreneurship support organization operating as a subsidiary of Almi Östra Mellansverige AB, a Swedish government-owned business development company. It provides free coaching, events, workspaces, and community-building services to students at Linköping University (LiU) across its two campuses in Linköping and Norrköping. The organization is funded through institutional partners including LiU, the municipalities of Linköping and Norrköping, and Region Östergötland, and serves the long-tail of student entrepreneurs exploring or developing early-stage ventures.
The core offering is one-on-one business coaching delivered by a small team under CEO Malin Karlsson, complemented by the inGenious challenge-based learning course (8 ECTS credits) in which student teams solve real business challenges supplied by regional companies for fees ranging from SEK 5,000 to SEK 150,000. Recurring programs include the Idéstuga workshop concept, lunch lectures, creative workspaces called Student Hubs, the Get Going program, and structured competitions (Idea Competition with a SEK 50,000 Saab prize, Student Policy Proposal Competition sponsored by the Ragnar Sellberg Foundation/Ragn-Sells). GTM is community-led and event-driven; all student-facing services are free, with no pricing model on the user side. The organization also maintains links to a broader European network through ECIU University membership and supports a portfolio of student ventures spanning healthtech, AI, and sustainability (e.g., HealthBudgetX, TaskMind AI, Movespring, OptiFruit).
Revenue is non-commercial and derived from the four public institutional funders; no equity, venture funding, or commercial revenue model is in place. The competitive position rests on physical campus embedding, multi-municipal and university sponsorship, and an ecosystem of recurring programs and corporate partners rather than any proprietary technology stack.
Student Innovation by LiU firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Student Innovation by LiU
- Legal name
- Student Innovation (Almi East Sweden AB)
- Website
- https://studentinnovationbyliu.se
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Student Innovation by LiU is a free, publicly-funded entrepreneurship support organization that provides coaching, events, workspace, and challenge-based learning to students at Linköping University across its two campuses in Linköping and Norrköping, Sweden.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Student Innovation by LiU industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Entrepreneurship Support Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers (EDAHAHAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Technical Universities with Strong Industry Partnerships (EDAHAEAG), Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD)
Keywords
Where Student Innovation by LiU is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Linköping
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Student Innovation by LiU business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Government/Institutional Funding: Student Innovation (Almi East Sweden AB) is a subsidiary of Almi Östra Mellansverige and is funded by Linköping University, Linköping Municipality, Norrköping Municipality, and Region Östergötland. Services are provided free of charge to students. The organization does not generate commercial revenue from students.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free services for all LiU students |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Student Innovation by LiU product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Student Innovation by LiU provides free entrepreneurship support to students at Linköping University through one-on-one business coaching, workshops, community events, creative workspaces (Student Hubs), and team-matching services. It also operates the inGenious 8-credit challenge-based learning course that connects student teams with real-world challenges submitted by regional companies and public-sector organizations.
Product overview
Student Innovation by LiU operates as a comprehensive entrepreneurship support ecosystem rather than a traditional software product company. The core offering is the support program itself, which provides coaching, community access, events, and workspace facilities to student entrepreneurs. The inGenious challenge-based learning course is a key component where students earn credits while solving real company challenges. The organization connects students with funding opportunities, helps form teams, and facilitates participation in competitions. Student ventures supported include various startups across sectors such as language learning (Svenskly), second-hand market search (Listingfinder), nightlife discovery (Barrunda), and AI-driven health economics (HealthBudgetX).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- inGenious: A challenge-based learning course offered in collaboration with Linköping University where students work on real-world challenges from companies and organizations during the autumn semester.
Products and services
- Business Coaching
Companies that use Student Innovation by LiU
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Student Innovation by LiU technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Student Innovation by LiU partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Linköping UniversitycoreLinköping University (LiU) is the founding institutional partner of Student Innovation. The organization is embedded in the university's campuses in Linköping and Norrköping. Student Innovation's coach Malin Karlsson and staff have liu.se email addresses, and the inGenious course is an official LiU course (8 credits, 25%).
- LEAD (Linköping Entrepreneurship and Development)coreLEAD is a local entrepreneurship support organization in Linköping. It is listed as a collaborator and co-organizer of the Idea Competition 2026. LEAD provides resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs in the region.
- Norrköping Science Park (NOSP)majorNOSP (Norrköping Science Park) is listed as a collaborator and hosts a Student Hub (Strykbrädan) for Student Innovation. It also provides challenge opportunities through inGenious and collaborates on the 'The City You Stay For' challenge with Norrköping Municipality. NOSP connects academia, business, and the public sector.
- Linköping Science ParkmajorLinköping Science Park is listed as a collaborator and is part of Linköping's strong innovation ecosystem. It connects Student Innovation with the broader regional startup and business community.
- VentureCupminorVentureCup is a Swedish competition and entrepreneurship support organization listed as a collaborator. It provides competition frameworks and networking for student entrepreneurs.
- Nyföretagarcentrum Mellersta ÖstergötlandminorNyföretagarcentrum (Business Generator Center) Mellersta Östergötland is listed as a collaborator providing entrepreneurship support services in the region.
- ECIU University (European Consortium of Institutes of Technology)minorECIU University is a virtual European university network where LiU collaborates with 11 other universities on societal challenges. Student Innovation co-organized the Ideation Dinner Workshop with ECIU University, which focused on idea development and was hosted at Ryds Herrgård, Linköping.
- Ragnar Sellberg Foundation and Ragn-SellsmajorThe Ragnar Sellberg Foundation and Ragn-Sells initiated the Student Policy Proposal Competition in collaboration with Linköping University. The competition invites students to submit policy proposals for a circular economy, with a prize of SEK 25,000. Ragn-Sells is a Swedish environmental services company.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Student Innovation by LiU competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- DTU Skylab: Innovation hub at the Technical University of Denmark combining maker-space facilities, entrepreneurship courses, student venture incubation, and corporate challenge programs. Directly comparable to Student Innovation's mix of workspace, courses, and challenge-based learning.
- Aalto Startup Center / Aalto Entrepreneurship Society: Finnish university-linked startup incubator (Aalto University) offering coaching, community, and pre-seed support to student founders. Highly comparable mission and target audience to Student Innovation by LiU, though operating in Finland.
- Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE): Entrepreneurship education and incubation hub at Copenhagen Business School and the University of Copenhagen. Offers courses, workshops, and a startup incubator for students — highly comparable in structure to Student Innovation's coaching + course model, though operating in Denmark.
Direct peers
- Chalmers Ventures: Sweden's largest university-affiliated startup investor and accelerator, linked to Chalmers University of Technology. Combines coaching, incubation, and pre-seed/seed funding for student and researcher founders — directly comparable mission and target audience to Student Innovation by LiU.
- Sting (Stockholm): Swedish accelerator supporting early-stage startups with coaching, capital readiness, and investor connections — often with founders originating from KTH, SU, and KI. Comparable to Student Innovation's coaching and investor-readiness offerings, though more commercialization-focused.
- Movex (Linnaeus University, Växjö): Linnaeus University's entrepreneurship support program providing coaching, events, and community to student founders. Closely mirrors Student Innovation by LiU as a smaller Swedish university entrepreneurship unit — useful direct comparability for operating model and scale.
- LU Innovation (Lund University): University-wide innovation office at Lund University supporting student and researcher entrepreneurship through coaching, validation programs (e.g., LU Innovation System), and incubator partnerships. Closely matches Student Innovation's role as a dedicated entrepreneurship unit at a major Swedish research university.
- LEAD (Linköping Entrepreneurship and Development): Local Linköping entrepreneurship organization co-organizing the Idea Competition 2026 with Student Innovation. Provides mentorship, networking, and resources for regional founders — overlapping target audience and complementary mission within the same Linköping ecosystem.
- Nyfôretagarcentrum (Business Generator Center) Sverige: Swedish national network of non-profit entrepreneurship centers offering free coaching and advice to early-stage founders. Local node "Nyfôretagarcentrum Mellersta Östergötland" is listed as a Student Innovation collaborator — directly comparable mission and free-to-founder model.
- KTH Innovation (Royal Institute of Technology): University-embedded innovation support unit at Sweden's largest technical university. Offers coaching, workshops, and funding to student researchers and founders — directly comparable to Student Innovation by LiU's coaching + community model within a Swedish academic setting.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Student Innovation by LiU social profiles
Digital presenceStudent Innovation by LiU financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Student Innovation by LiU leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Student Innovation by LiU funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Student Innovation by LiU M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Student Innovation by LiU
What does Student Innovation by LiU do?
Student Innovation by LiU provides free entrepreneurship support to students at Linköping University through one-on-one business coaching, workshops, community events, creative workspaces (Student Hubs), and team-matching services. It also operates the inGenious 8-credit challenge-based learning course that connects student teams with real-world challenges submitted by regional companies and public-sector organizations.
Is Student Innovation by LiU a public or private company?
Student Innovation by LiU is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Student Innovation by LiU founded?
Student Innovation by LiU was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Student Innovation by LiU based?
Student Innovation by LiU is headquartered in Linköping, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Student Innovation by LiU make money?
One revenue line is on record: government/Institutional Funding.
Who are Student Innovation by LiU's main competitors?
Regional players on record are DTU Skylab, Aalto Startup Center / Aalto Entrepreneurship Society and Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE). Direct peers are Chalmers Ventures, Sting (Stockholm), Movex (Linnaeus University, Växjö), LU Innovation (Lund University), LEAD (Linköping Entrepreneurship and Development), Nyfôretagarcentrum (Business Generator Center) Sverige and KTH Innovation (Royal Institute of Technology).
Does Student Innovation by LiU have an API?
No public API is recorded for Student Innovation by LiU.
What industry is Student Innovation by LiU in?
Student Innovation by LiU's product category is Entrepreneurship Support Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAHAH, Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers, with a secondary code of EDAMAHAA, Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.