Spark Festival 2026: A week Shaped by Australia’s Startup Community
24 August, 2026
Australia’s startup ecosystem is coming together again this September for Spark Festival, the country’s largest grassroots startup festival.
Running from 21–27 September 2026 Spark brings founders, investors, innovators, researchers, operators and the wider community together for a week of events, conversations and connections. Best of all, Spark is free and open to everyone!
But what makes Spark different is not simply the scale of its program. Spark is made by the ecosystem, for the ecosystem.
Much of the festival is created and hosted by the people who are actively building, investing in and supporting startups. Individuals, organisations and institutions contribute venues, people, ideas, expertise and content, creating a festival that reflects what is happening across Australia’s innovation community right now.
Spark is about strengthening Australia’s innovation ecosystem, creating access to knowledge and networks, and giving more people the opportunity to participate in the startup community, and that is something UNSW Founders is 100% here to support.
A Program of Ideas, Connection and Action
For UNSW Founders, being part of Spark Festival is a natural fit.
As a university-based startup and innovation hub, UNSW Founders sits at the intersection of research, entrepreneurship, industry and the next generation of innovators. Every day, we work to help turn ideas into ventures and create the conditions for innovation to thrive.
That is why we are excited to contribute to Spark this year — not simply by hosting events, but by bringing the community together around some of the conversations that are shaping the future of Australian innovation.
Our 2026 program reflects the breadth of the startup ecosystem itself.
From investment and AI to health innovation, sustainability and diversity, these events create space for practical conversations, new connections and different perspectives.
See the full list of UNSW Founders Spark events below 👇
Monday 21 September
Investment: The Myth vs the Reality
5:30pm - 7pm | 410 George Street, Sydney CBD
Find out what it’s actually like to work in the investment ecosystem in Australia.
A candid look at the reality of working in Australia’s investment ecosystem, moving beyond the perceptions and mythology surrounding venture capital and investment.
Register for Investment: The Myth vs the Reality
From Bench to Bedside: Funding the Medtech Journey
1pm–4pm | Health Translation Hub, Randwick
Explore how a health innovation moves from research project to investable venture.
This session will unpack the investment journey for medicine and health innovation, exploring what it takes to move an idea from the laboratory through to real-world impact.
Tuesday 22 September
Selling the Green Dream
1pm–4pm | The Greenhouse, Level 3, 180 George Street, Sydney
Unlocking economic value that works for people and the planet.
This session explores how green innovation can translate into compelling commercial opportunities — and how founders can communicate the economic value of solutions designed to deliver both business and environmental outcomes.
If you made it all the way here… we have a discount code for you: UNSWCommunity 😉
AI After Hours
5pm - 7pm | UNSW Kensington, The MCIC
AI Startup Meetup – learn, share and build together.
An opportunity for the AI startup community to come together, exchange ideas, share experiences and build new connections.
Wednesday 23 September
Built Different: Diversity in the Startup Ecosystem
5:30pm - 7pm | UNSW Kensington, The MCIC
Explore how identity, culture, lived experience and representation influence what people build.
The startup ecosystem is shaped by the people within it. This event will explore the role that identity, culture and lived experience play in entrepreneurship — and what greater diversity can mean for the ideas, businesses and innovations that emerge.
Register for Built Different: Diversity in the Startup Ecosystem
Come for the events. Stay for the ecosystem.
Spark is a chance to step outside your usual network and discover where your work, ideas or expertise might intersect with someone else's.
Whether you are building your first startup, investing in the next generation of Australian companies, working in research and innovation, supporting founders — or simply curious about what is being built — there is a place for you.
Spark Festival runs 21–27 September 2026 across Sydney and NSW.
Explore the full Spark Festival program and we hope to see you there!