News
2026/09/07
We are now accepting applications for the 6th Session of the GTIE GAP Fund Entry Course (2027, 1st Term).
Applications are now open for the 6th GTIE GAP Fund Entry Course (2027, 1st Term)
Application Overview:
1. Eligibility Requirements
① Researchers affiliated with the following universities and institutions on the GTIE platform
(The University of Tokyo*), Waseda University, Institute of Science Tokyo, University of Tsukuba, Chiba University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Yokohama City University, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Keio University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo University of Science,Ibaraki University, The University of Electro-Communications, Tokai University, RIKEN, Yokohama National University, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo Denki University, Kogakuin University, Sophia University, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
*Researchers and students affiliated with the University of Tokyo are not eligible to apply for the Entry Course (see p. 14 of the Application Guidelines for details)
② Applicants must also meet all other eligibility requirements (see the Application Guidelines for details)
2. Application Period and Selection Schedule
[ Application Deadline ] Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at noon [ Strictly Enforced ]
[ Schedule ]
Application Submission Deadline: Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at noon
Document Review: During October 2026 (tentative)
Interview Screening: Sunday, November 8, 2026, and Saturday, November 14, 2026 (tentative)
*Online interviews are planned
Notification of Selection Results (Preliminary Offer): During November 2026 (tentative)
Program Start: Scheduled for January 2027 (following the JST approval date)
*Dates following the application deadline are tentative and subject to change.
*JST approval is required following GTIE selection. This is expected to take 1.5 to 3.5 months after the project proposal is submitted to JST.
3. Available Courses
Entry Course
Research and Development Period: Scheduled for January 2027 (after the JST approval date) through September 30, 2027
4. Estimated Number of Selected Proposals
Approximately 10proposals
*If there are outstanding proposals, selections will be made regardless of the number listed above. Conversely, if there are few proposals that meet the selection criteria, the number of selected proposals may fall below the estimated figure. Therefore, the number of selected proposals is subject to change.
5. Research and Development Funding (Total Amount for the R&D Period, Direct Costs)
Up to 5 million yen per project
*This is the maximum amount and applies only to direct costs.
*The R&D funding amount may be adjusted based on the results of the selection review.
6. Research and Development Projects Sought:
This program seeks research and development projects that aim to return research outcomes to society by creating university-based startups targeting the global market—led by a principal investigator and based on innovative technological seeds from universities and other institutions participating in the GTIE platform—or by creating university-based startups with high social impact that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.Research and development projects at the basic research stage (purely scientific research not directly aimed at specific applications) and those requiring a significant number of years and funds to reach the startup phase are not eligible for support under this program.
<Estimated Timeline for Completion of This Program>
Projects selected for this program will, upon the program’s conclusion, assess their potential for commercialization and appropriate strategies. Based on this assessment, they will aim to establish a business by applying for the STEP 2 GAP Fund or other business support programs.When applying, please refer to the examples of achievement goals provided in the application guidelines and set appropriate achievement goals while taking into account the characteristics of your project and field.
7. Application Documents, etc.
(1) Application Guidelines
(2) Application Documents
Forms 0–4 *For students: Forms 0–5
(When submitting, please save the completed files as PDFs)
① Form 0: Confirmation of Principal Investigator Eligibility
② Form 1_Application Form: Overview of Research and Development Project
③ Form 2_Intellectual Property Confirmation Form
④ Form 3_Project Budget Proposal
⑤ Form 4_Project Description Materials (PowerPoint, 10 pages or fewer; save the file as a PDF) *Optional
⑥ Form 5_Student Confirmation Form
*Any references to the “Call for Proposals Guidelines” in the Student Confirmation Form refer to this document; please refer to it accordingly.
8. How to Submit Application Materials
Regarding Application Documents (PDF Files) Each file (1 file) must be 10 MB or smaller. Please ensure that each individual file is 10 MB or smaller. Please note that you cannot submit a single file split into multiple parts.
The application form includes fields for the “Principal Investigator’s Email Address” and the “Research Institution Contact’s Email Address.” An email containing the information entered in the application form (excluding attachments) will be automatically sent to the email addresses you provide.
The application form must be submitted only once per project. Preparing the required information in advance will make the submission process smoother.
Reference: Preparing Information in Advance for the Application Form
Application Form URL:
*The application form is scheduled to be released around September 15.
9. Application Restrictions
JST has established restrictions on duplicate applications by the same principal investigator for JST programs. Please refer to the application guidelines for details. If this applies to you, you cannot apply for this program.
The same principal investigator cannot simultaneously implement the “University-Based New Industry Creation Fund Project” and the “Research Results Deployment Project: University-Based New Industry Creation Program.” Additionally, except for the final year, you cannot apply for another fund while implementing one fund.Although there are no restrictions at the application stage, if you apply to multiple funds, once a decision to award a grant is made for any one of them, you must choose either to implement the awarded fund and withdraw from the pending applications, or to withdraw from the awarded fund in order to await the review results of the pending applications. Furthermore, the same principal investigator may not submit multiple project proposals to the same fund.
10. GAP Fund Q&A
Q&A
11. Contact Information
If you have any questions, please contact the “Inquiry Point” at your university listed in the application guidelines.
11. Notification of Selection Results
Notification of the final selection results is scheduled to be sent via email in November 2026.
Purpose and Objectives:
Under this GAP Fund Program, Greater Tokyo Innovation Ecosystem (hereinafter “GTIE”), which has been commissioned by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to administer the University-Based New Industry Creation Fund Startup Ecosystem Co-creation Program,(hereinafter referred to as “GTIE”), which has been commissioned to implement the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) University-Based New Industry Creation Fund Startup Ecosystem Co-creation Program, provides support through the GAP Fund Program to researchers affiliated with universities participating in the GTIE Platform.
The GTIE GAP Fund Program “Entry Course, 6th Session (2027, Phase 1)” seeks to support research and development projects from universities participating in the GTIE Platform that (1) aim to enter global markets through university-spun-off startups centered on innovative technological seeds, and(2) research and development aimed at contributing to society through the creation of university-spun-off startups with high social impact that also contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
Selected projects will be advanced under a framework in which the principal investigator responsible for R&D is supported by entrepreneurship support staff at their affiliated university. In advancing the projects, milestones (key interim goals as well as business development and R&D milestones) will be established, and business development and R&D will be conducted in an integrated manner to achieve these milestones.