Ewha Womans University Campus Town Selects Final 55 Resident Companies and Holds Kickoff Event N
- Date2026.03.18
- 483
The Ewha Womans University Campus Town Project Group (Director Cho William) successfully completed the final selection of resident companies for 2026 through the “E-LIFE Challenge Startup Competition” and the “Station Ewha Batch Program,” and held an orientation and kickoff event on February 27 at the LG Convention Hall of Ewha Womans University.
The Ewha Womans University Campus Town Project Group has been discovering and fostering promising youth startups with outstanding business items and ideas each year through its startup competition. This year, it recruited startups in the “WAVE” sectors—Wellness & Life, AI Foundation, Vital Bio, and Environmental—aimed at human-centered AI and life-tech innovation.
A total of 327 companies and teams (excluding duplicates) applied for the “E-LIFE Challenge Startup Competition,” and 107 companies were selected in the first round through a two-day document screening process. Following in-person presentation evaluations held at the Ewha Startup Open Space, a final 50 companies were selected. Among the final winners were 24 startups affiliated with Ewha Womans University, including 4 student startups, 12 alumni-founded startups, and 8 faculty startups (excluding 1 company from another university), demonstrating the strong interest and capabilities of Ewha members in entrepreneurship.
In addition, Ewha Womans University launched the “Station Ewha Batch Program,” an investment-oriented support system jointly operated by the Business Incubation Center and Ewha Womans University Holdings Co., Ltd., to systematically support the growth of promising startups identified through the Campus Town Project. Designed to encompass both incubating and accelerating functions, the program aims to intensively support early-stage startups with high growth potential.
A total of 108 companies and teams applied for the “Station Ewha Batch Program,” competing for 5 final spots and resulting in a high competition ratio of 21.6:1. The selected 5 teams will undergo Ewha Womans University’s structured accelerating program and gain opportunities to attract investments of up to KRW 100 million.
The kickoff and orientation event was attended by all 55 selected companies. The program began with an opening address by the Head of the Campus Town Headquarters (who also serves as Director of the Business Incubation Center), followed by an introduction to the Campus Town Project, an overview of major programs for 2026, guidance on workspace allocation and startup activity funding, and a Q&A session. The event concluded with ice-breaking activities among the 55 companies, an introduction to a partnership program with Webcash, a group photo session, and networking activities.
The final 55 selected companies will receive a wide range of support benefits during the agreement period from March 1 to December 31. These include free access to independent and shared office spaces for a basic period of one year (extendable up to four years), business development funding, customized programs based on corporate diagnostics, one-on-one mentoring and scale-up programs, AI-related education, lectures and seminars, and prize funding through a year-end performance-sharing event.
The 5 companies selected for the “Station Ewha Batch Program” will receive more differentiated support. In addition to free office space and business funding, outstanding companies may receive investment from Ewha Womans University Holdings Co., Ltd. following an investment review. Comprehensive accelerating programs will also be provided, including customized startup support by sector based on corporate diagnostics, as well as programs linked to global expansion and investment attraction.
Kim Sang-joon, Head of the Campus Town Project Group at Ewha Womans University, stated, “Ewha Womans University will actively support the promising startups selected this year so that they can grow into outstanding companies by leveraging Ewha’s systematic startup support system and both internal and external networks,” adding, “We will continue to strive for the activation of on-campus entrepreneurship and the advancement of the startup ecosystem.”