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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge 2026
- When
- Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM (UTC−5)
- Where
- 167 North Green St., Fulton Market District, Chicago, IL
Official event page · dates verified
About the event
Hosted by UIUC's Grainger College of Engineering (Landuyt Center for Entrepreneurship), this multi-university challenge brings engineering-powered student startups to Chicago to pitch live to investors, founders, and tech leaders for a share of a $200,000+ prize pool plus incubator placement and VC connections.
The 2026 challenge takes place Tuesday, October 20, 2026 as part of the Chicago Venture Summit: Future of Health (October 19–20).
Who should apply
Current students or recent graduates from top universities building tech-driven ventures. Eligibility and application details are posted on the Landuyt Center site.
Presenting teams
Teams announced closer to the event.
Teams announced closer to the event. Named teams show up here once the host confirms them. UndergradVC does not score applications.
Startups already indexed for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
For hosts
Demo Day Pilot
A $1,500 manual pilot, powered by UndergradVC. Ops publishes the page with you. This is not a self-serve event builder.
- One public page: name, date and time, place or virtual, who should apply, and a link to the school's own application when we have it.
- An interest list on upcoming events. We do not email applicants, send reminders, or sell tickets. Ask UndergradVC and ops sends the list.
- Named teams appear in the showcase when the host sends them. An empty grid means they are not announced yet. The product does not score judges.
Interest list: contact@undergradvc.com