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The Accelerator Practitioner Programme

Call for Trainers and Mentors

Are you a founder, investor, researcher or functional expert who enjoys working with early-stage ventures?

Join the URL-Esade eWorks Accelerator 2026 as a mentor or trainer and help shape the next generation of high-growth, high-impact startups.

About

The eWorks Accelerator is a selective programme that seeks to identify and support high-growth projects so that they can develop efficiently and sustainably. 

  • Focus on high-growth; high-impact ventures.
  • Personalised journey of each teamthat goes through the programme.
  • Learning by doing, moving forward with intention and supporting participants when and where it’s most needed.
  • Participants lead their own progress throughbi-weekly sprintswhile we accompany them
  • The 10 best projects participate in a Demo Day where they present their projects to international investors, founders, and leaders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Esade eWorks celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2025/26 academic year with the aim to be more international, and with unprecedented reach.

Structure

19-20 June  2026

  • 2-day Bootcamp
  • Get to know (teams and mentors start working together)

22 June – 9 October 2026 

  • Weekly startups meetings:
    Meetup, workshops, sessions to show their progress
  • Bi-weekly team checkpoints
  • Documentation review
  • Focused training sessions tailored to venture’s needs: Business Model Clinic, Go to Market, GenAI for founders Pitching, Private / public funding

22 Ocotber 2026

  • Demo day
    Top 10 projects pitch to investors, corporates and the Esade/URL community.
  • Project’s Fair

Outcome

  • Influence and accelerate promising ventures at a pivotal stage. 
  • Grow your network within the Esade & URL entrepreneurial ecosystem — founders, VCs, corporates and researchers. 
  • Discover new investment and partnership opportunities. 
  • Receive official recognition and a certificate of participation from Engage-URL-Esade. 
  • Payment details will be shared at the time of matching. Compensation is calculated per mentoring or training session actually delivered. 

What we expect from mentors

Mentors provide hands-on guidance that helps teams make better decisions, move faster and validate critical assumptions. 

Key responsibilities

  • Provide ongoing support to assigned teams throughout June → September via scheduled 1:1 online meetings (video calls). 
  • Offer actionable feedback to help teams prioritise milestones, validate business and technical assumptions, and prepare for investors and customers.
  • Be reachable for timely asynchronous support (Slack / email or equivalent) and short ad-hoc calls when critical issues arise.
  • Attend a few brief mentor check-ins organised by URL-Esade and, where possible, attend Demo Day (or remotely). 

Estimated time commitment (indicative) 

  • 1:1 mentor sessions: ~6 hours total over the programme 
    (e.g., 1 hour every 2–3 weeks across June → October (actual load depends on team needs). 

What will you need to do? Expect workload of 8 to 19h.

  • Preparation, follow-ups and ad-hoc support.
  • Mentor check-ins & Demo Day involvement.

Channels

Scheduled video calls (Zoom / Teams), asynchronous messaging (project management platform / email), shared documents (Google Drive, Notion, etc.). In-person involvement may occasionally be offered (we’ll give plenty of notice). 

What we expect from trainers

Trainers design and deliver workshop content and specialised sessions on the fundamentals and functional skills needed to scale a venture. 

Key responsibilities

  • Deliver one or more workshops or specialised sessions (live online or hybrid) on topics such as customer discovery, go-to-market, unit economics, fundraising readiness, product-market fit, IP & regulation, technical scaling, and more. 
  • Co-design content with URL-Esade so sessions match the selected cohort’s needs. 
  • Offer short office hours or clinic sessions after workshops for hands-on support. 

Estimated time commitment (indicative) 

  • Delivery: 1.5–3 hours (depending on type of session). 

What will you need to do? Expect a dedication of 6h aprox.

  • Preparation, follow-ups and ad-hoc support.
  • Coordination meeting and check-in.
  • Post-session office hours.

Matching, selection & timeline

  • Deadline to apply (mentors & trainers): February 13, 2026. 
  • The accelerator’s startup cohort will be selected in May 2026. 
  • After cohort selection, URL-Esade will match mentors and trainers to teams based on the startups’ needs and the mentors’/trainers’ expertise. Submitting an application or being accepted to the mentor/trainer pool does not guarantee an assignment. 
  • During the programme, and based on evolving startup needs, we may assign additional mentors or trainers. URL-Esade will finalise the training calendar and notify selected mentors/trainers before the programme starts. 
  • Early June 2026: matches confirmed and calendar shared. 
  • June → September 2026: acceleration period. 
  • October 2026: Demo Day (date TBD). 

Application

  • Complete the Mentor & Trainer application form 
  • Submit by 13 February 2026. 
  • We will review applications and contact candidates who require additional information. 
  • Matches and the full training calendar will be communicated before the programme begins in June 2026. 

Disclaimer

  • Submitting an application places you in a mentor/trainer pool — it does not guarantee assignment. Matches are made to maximise fit between the startup’s needs and mentors’/trainers’ strengths. 
  • URL-Esade may add mentors or trainers during the programme as teams’ needs evolve. 
  • Selected mentors and trainers may be asked to sign a short confidentiality letter / NDA with URL-Esade to protect teams’ sensitive information and proprietary materials. 
  • We also ask mentors to indicate whether they’d be willing to mentor pro-bono if we are unable to match them to a paid assignment; those pro-bono mentors will appear on a list founders may contact directly. 
  • Payments based on the number of teaching/mentoring hours delivered.

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