ACCEL
ACCEL is the Academy for Churchill College Enterprise and Leadership
It is open to Undergraduate STEM students (2nd and 3rd years) studying eligible subjects and Engineering Postgraduate students (2nd or 3rd years). Eligible undergraduate STEM subjects are Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Geography, Manufacturing, Maths, Medicine, Natural Science, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences, Veterinary Medicine.
The next ACCEL programme launches on 9 October 2025.
Find out more at our networking drinks reception 18:15-19:00 at the Møller Institute tower.
Eligibility and outcomes
There are 16 places available. Applications are open to Engineering postgraduate STEM students (2nd or 3rd years) and Undergraduate STEM students (2nd and 3rd years).
If you’re an undergraduate:
You might be looking to boost your skill set, get better at managing coursework, or thinking about next steps and applying for internships, or not sure what your goals are and want a bit of direction – this is for you!
If you’re a postgraduate:
This is a great time to think a bit outside of your PhD project and what your next steps might be. This is a great way to make connections, build skills and explore your interests.
All participants will develop and practice professional and leadership skills through a variety of mechanisms, including mentorship, skills development workshops and group and individual projects. You will also get to practice core capabilities in the areas of communication, teamwork, empathy and problem-solving.
Programme Outline & Commitment
6 Workshops, each on a different aspect of leadership development, take place at the Møller Institute, led by their experienced team.
Funding and Project opportunities
There will be the opportunity to apply for funding to complete an extended project to make a positive impact. This is an opportunity to put your new skills to use and explore something you are interested in outside of your course academic requirements.
These projects can take a range of approaches and may include internships, community, design and research projects. If you are an undergraduate, these will necessarily be completed in summer 2024. For postgraduates, this timeline is more flexible.
Online Presence
Those participating will have the opportunity to share their profile/project via the college website. This is a marker of your participation and will be an asset, strengthening future job applications.
Celebration event
This will take place just before the start of Michaelmas the following year. Students and Mentors are invited to celebrate their achievements and showcase experiences from the summer.
Looking forwards
There will be opportunities for ongoing engagement with the ACCEL community the following academic year. This will be light touch and include seminars, networking and celebrations.
Workshops run fortnightly on Monday afternoons 4:00-5:30 pm through Michaelmas and Lent.
Those selected for the programme must have a commitment to participate in all 6 workshops and the celebration event.
Schedule
Launch event 9 October 2025: RSVP by 7th October
- 3rd November – Moller Suite 1
- 17th November – Study Centre 4
- 26 January – Study Centre suite 3
- 9 February – Study Centre suite 3
- 23 February – Study Centre suite 3
- 9 March – Moller Suite 1
Closing Celebration event date tbc.
FAQs
Not at all! The programme is designed to develop your confidence and skills, yes in leadership, but also much more broadly. Enthusiasm, curiosity, and a willingness to learn are what matter most.
We’re aiming for roughly a 50/50 balance. Last year’s cohort leaned more towards undergraduates simply because there were more applications from that group, but this year interest looks pretty even, and we expect that to be reflected in the final cohort.
Last year we had 19 students, which worked really well as everyone got to know each other. We’re aiming for a similar size again, though we might expand slightly if there’s a particularly strong pool of applicants.
No, projects are completely optional! Last year, 6 out of 19 participants chose to do one.
So far, yes, projects have happened over the summer, mainly because that timing works best for undergraduates (and only UGs chose to apply for projects). If there’s postgraduate interest this year, we’ll think creatively about how timing might work for that group too.
Not at all. The diversity of projects last year, from self-watering plant pots and 3D printers to publishing a book and running a STEM summer school in Czechia, just reflects participants’ different interests. The only “requirement” is that your project helps you apply or develop skills you’ve worked on during the programme, and that its something that you might not have had the motivation or opportunity to do otherwise. We’re very open to creative ideas!
Not necessarily. We do have some funding available, and the aim is to support as many well thought-through projects as possible. Depending on the project’s scope, relevance to the skills ACCEL promotes, and the level of support requested, some are fully funded, some part-funded, and some not funded. The amount of funding available is not sufficient for anyone to think of this as an ‘internship’! Funding decisions are made by a panel of College Fellows.
After the 24th October deadline, I’ll compile all applications for review by the panel, and be in touch as early as possible in the week starting 27th October to let you know the outcome.
The core Møller sessions take place during term, and we’re very aware that you have demanding schedules. There are 6 sessions, 2 in Michaelmas, 4 in Lent. Each session is 1.5 hours, so in total 9 hours of workshop sessions.
We don’t know your timetable for Lent either! What we’ve done is choose a time that has worked in the past, and is hopefully late enough in the day to not clash with scheduled labs or lectures. Occasionally a student has had some course commitment come up that has meant they needed to miss part of a session, or join slightly late. When this is the case, we just ask that you communicate this in advance with the team so that they know when to expect you. With limited places on this course, we would hope that anyone applying is committed to attending all workshops unless absolutely unavoidable.
No, the in-person nature of this course is essential for building relationships and a real strength of the course.
Yes 🙂
No. It’s completely free to participants, thanks to generous support from the Møller Institute and Churchill College donors.
Yes. We will just look at the most recent version of the application you submitted. If you want to change anything, just fill in the form again – we’ll ignore anything you put in any earlier submission.
Yes, just apply following the instructions on this page.
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