Venture Class Program
Launch the Next Generation of Founders
Program Description & Focus Points
Join a growing network of forward-thinking universities working directly with Mitsubishi Electric Innovation Center.
The MELIC Venture Class Program empowers institutions to run a proven, co-branded innovation track that transforms ideas into real companies — while Mitsubishi Electric supports and invests in the most promising ventures. By collaborating with us, your university becomes a gateway to early-stage capital, global mentorship, and corporate collaboration. Help your brightest talents build real ventures — and let Mitsubishi Electric power the incubation.
If you're ready to empower your students with a real-world, venture-backed innovation experience — and become a strategic partner in Mitsubishi Electric's early-stage pipeline — we'd love to hear from you.
Let's build the next generation of startups together.
Why Work with MELIC?
Bring a Corporate-Backed Venture Program to Your Campus
Here's how your institution benefits:
Turn Students Into Founders
Help your brightest students form real startups — supported by industry-grade mentorship, business training, and proof-of-concept development.
Bring Capital to Campus
MELIC provides funding to support program operations, student team formation, and early-stage incorporation — up to $15K per startup and $20K per cohort.
Collaborate with Mitsubishi Electric
Work directly with one of the world's leading technology companies through business unit-driven challenges and innovation priorities.
Deliver Real-World Impact
Equip students with the experience of building in-market solutions, engaging real customers, and pitching to investors — all within an academic semester.
Run a Structured Incubation Program With Full Academic Ownership
MELIC supplies the model, resources, and real-world challenges — your university leads the program delivery. Faculty, mentors, and innovation staff maintain control of the classroom experience while leveraging our tools, funding, and venture-building expertise.
Elevate Your Innovation Profile
Strengthen your university's position as a leader in applied innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry partnership.
About Venture Class Program
A 4-Month Entrepreneurship Journey for Student Innovators
Program Description
The MELIC Venture Class Program is a 12-week experiential entrepreneurship program for university students, hosted in partnership with leading academic institutions.
How does it work?
Mitsubishi Electric (MELCO) provides each partner university with a curated list of corporate innovation needs and active business challenges. Through a university-led "Call for Interest" (CFI), this list is shared across faculties to source student-led ideas and research projects aligned with these topics — or adjacent ideas that demonstrate strong relevance and potential.
Program Focus Points
Student teams form around selected topics and are guided through a full venture-building journey:
Students explore real user needs, test assumptions, and confirm market demand.
Teams craft and refine both 60-second quick pitches and full investor-style decks.
Students develop early prototypes or demos to showcase solution feasibility.
Startups receive feedback from MELIC mentors, faculty, and real investors to iterate fast.
Teams pitch their ventures to a panel of corporate partners, VCs, and the MELIC team.
Teams pitch their ventures to a panel of corporate partners, VCs, and the MELIC team.
Throughout the program, students receive mentorship from university faculty, MELIC experts, and invited corporate and investor mentors.
What happens next?
Some teams dissolve with valuable experience. Others incorporate and move forward. MELIC selects the most promising ventures for investment and fast-tracked entry into the MELIC Accelerator Program.
Program Benefits
What selected student teams gain during the program
- Real-world problem statements from Mitsubishi Electric business units
- Full venture design experience — from idea validation to pitch execution
- Mentorship from professors, corporate experts, and early-stage investors
- Up to $15K per team in startup funding via MELIC SAFE agreements
- $5K per team in company formation support (legal/incorporation)
- Eligibility for MELIC Accelerator Program and up to $250K follow-on funding
Program Timeline
The 12-week Venture Class Program, taking students from idea validation and team formation to pitching real ventures at Demo Day.
Timeline