The Ministry of Education is stepping up efforts to nurture student entrepreneurs through stage-based curricula and mentoring.
The Ministry of Education and the Korea Foundation for Youth Entrepreneurship announced Wednesday that they are accepting applications for the “2026 Student Startup 300+” program through May 27.
“Student Startup 300+” is a flagship student entrepreneur development program that provides startup education and one-on-one coaching to elementary, middle, high school, and university students as well as out-of-school youth nationwide. Approximately 10,000 teams have participated since the program’s launch in 2016 through last year, with participation growing steadily — a record 1,508 teams applied last year alone.
This year, a total of 400 teams will be selected by the end of May across two tracks: the Growth Track and the Leap Track. The Growth Track (360 teams) is open to both pre-startup and active startup teams, and includes a junior college track (50 teams) and an international student track (10 teams). The Leap Track (40 teams) targets active startup teams and focuses on strengthening fundraising capabilities, with the top 19 teams earning a spot in the finals of “K-Startup 2026,” a cross-ministerial integrated startup competition.
“Successful alumni entrepreneurs who went through Student Startup 300+ are returning to the program as mentors for younger participants, creating a virtuous cycle in the student startup ecosystem,” said Ye Hye-ran, Director General for Lifelong Education Support at the Ministry of Education. “We look forward to enthusiastic participation from promising student startup teams again this year.”
