HeadstartGlobal Pte. Ltd.

Student Participation Agreement

Academic Year 2026–27

1. PURPOSE

1.1Headstart operates an early-careers platform that connects university students with founder-mentored micro-internships ("Projects") listed by early-stage companies ("Startups"), and with graduate employers.

1.2This Agreement sets out the terms on which the Student may take part in Projects during the academic year 2026–27. It applies to every Project the Student joins during the Term and sits alongside the Headstart platform terms of use and privacy policy.

2. STATUS OF THIS AGREEMENT AND OF THE STUDENT

2.1This Agreement is legally binding. However, nothing in it obliges the Student to apply for, accept, start or complete any Project, and nothing in it obliges Headstart or any Startup to offer the Student a place on a Project.

2.2Participation in a Project is a voluntary learning experience. The Student is not an employee, worker, apprentice or contractor of Headstart or of any Startup, and this Agreement does not create any employment, worker, agency or partnership relationship. The Student is not entitled to any wage, the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, holiday pay, sick pay or other employment benefits from Headstart or any Startup.

2.3The Student may pause or stop taking part in a Project at any time and for any reason, without penalty. Headstart asks that the Student tell their Project Director as early as possible, and ideally with at least 24 hours' notice, so the rest of the team can be supported.

2.4The Student confirms they are at least 18 years old and enrolled at, or within 24 months of graduating from, a university or higher-education institution.

3. TERM

3.1This Agreement begins on the Effective Date and continues until 31 August 2027 (the "Term"), unless ended earlier under clause 14.

3.2Clauses 8 (Intellectual Property), 9 (Confidentiality), 10 (Data Protection), 12 (Liability) and 16 (Governing Law) continue after the Term ends.

4. PROJECTS

4.1Projects are listed by Startups on the Headstart platform in cycles. Headstart, supported by a Project Director, reviews applications, interviews candidates and forms each Project team. Decisions on selection are Headstart's alone.

4.2The typical shape of a Project is:

(a)six to ten weeks in length, usually eight, as stated in the Project listing;

(b)an indicative contribution of four to six hours per week, which is a guide to help the Student plan and is not a required minimum or a maximum;

(c)remote by default, with any on-site element optional for the Student and agreed in advance;

(d)a team of typically three to five students, one of whom Headstart designates as team lead.

4.3A Project may be extended by up to two weeks if the Student, the rest of the team and the Startup all agree. Anything longer is a new Project listing.

4.4The Startup may set the Project's objectives and give feedback and guidance, in a mentorship style. The Startup may not set working hours, impose enforceable deadlines or deliverables, carry out performance assessments, or treat the Student as a member of its staff. The Student should tell their Project Director if any of this happens.

5. WHAT HEADSTART WILL DO

5.1Headstart will:

(a)provide access to the Headstart platform and to Project listings in accordance with the Student's membership tier;

(b)assign a Project Director to each Project as the Student's first point of contact for questions, concerns and mediation;

(c)run a welcome session at the start of each cycle and arrange a wrap-up call at the end of each Project;

(d)use reasonable efforts to support the Student if a Project is ended early by the Startup, including by signposting other opportunities;

(e)on request and where the Student has taken part in a Project to the reasonable satisfaction of the Project Director, provide written confirmation of the Student's participation, in the form applicable to their membership tier.

5.2Headstart does not guarantee that the Student will be selected for any Project, that any Project will run or be completed, or that participation will lead to any employment, internship or other outcome.

6. WHAT HEADSTART ASKS OF THE STUDENT

6.1While taking part in a Project, the Student agrees to use reasonable endeavours to:

(a)engage with the Project in good faith, attend the kick-off meeting and keep in reasonable contact with their team, the Startup and the Project Director;

(b)tell the Project Director promptly if they cannot continue, or if anything is affecting their ability to take part;

(c)behave professionally and courteously towards the Startup, other students and Headstart staff, and not act in a way that could bring Headstart or the Startup into disrepute;

(d)complete the feedback form at the end of each Project;

(e)not apply to or take part in a Project for a Startup where they have a conflict of interest they have not disclosed to Headstart.

6.2The Student is responsible for confirming that taking part in an unpaid, voluntary Project is permitted under any visa or immigration conditions that apply to them. Students on a UK Student visa should check the current UK Visas and Immigration guidance and, where relevant, their university's international student advice service before starting a Project.

6.3The Student is not required to sign any contract, non-disclosure agreement or similar document with a Startup. If a Startup asks the Student to sign one, the Student should refer the request to their Project Director.

7. MEMBERSHIP, FEES AND EXPENSES

7.1Headstart offers a free Basic membership and a paid Premium membership at the price published on the Headstart platform from time to time. Premium membership is a subscription to platform features and is governed by the platform terms of use. It is not payment for, and does not entitle the Student to, a place on any Project.

7.2The Student will not receive any payment, bonus or benefit from a Startup for taking part in a Project. A Startup may, at its discretion, reimburse reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (such as travel to an agreed on-site session) that were agreed in advance. Any such reimbursement is not compensation for work.

8. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

8.1Everything the Student creates for a Project, including documents, designs, code, research, data and other materials ("Project Work"), will belong to the Startup. The Student assigns to the Startup, with full title guarantee and by way of present assignment of future rights, all intellectual property rights in the Project Work as soon as they are created, and waives any moral rights in it so far as the law allows. The Startup may enforce this clause directly.

8.2The Student may describe the Project and their role in it in their CV, portfolio, interviews and professional profiles, and may show non-confidential examples of their Project Work for that purpose, provided they do not disclose the Startup's Confidential Information (clause 9) and do not imply that the Startup or Headstart endorses them.

8.3The Student does not acquire any rights in the Headstart platform, brand, materials or methodology, all of which remain Headstart's property.

8.4The Student confirms that Project Work will be their own work (or that of their team), will not knowingly infringe anyone else's rights, and will not incorporate material the Student is not entitled to use. Any use of AI tools must be disclosed to the Startup if it asks.

9. CONFIDENTIALITY

9.1"Confidential Information" means any non-public information about a Startup or Headstart that the Student receives during a Project and that is marked confidential or would obviously be regarded as confidential, including business plans, customer and user information, financial information, product roadmaps, source code and unreleased designs.

9.2The Student will keep Confidential Information confidential, use it only for the Project, not share it outside the Project team, and delete or return it at the end of the Project if the Startup asks.

9.3This clause does not apply to information that is or becomes public through no fault of the Student, that the Student already lawfully knew, or that must be disclosed by law. It continues for three years after the relevant Project ends.

9.4This clause is intended to give Startups the protection they need without a separate non-disclosure agreement, and each Startup may enforce it directly.

10. DATA PROTECTION

10.1Headstart is the controller of the personal data the Student provides through the platform and handles it in accordance with the Headstart privacy policy and the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

10.2To run a Project, Headstart will share the Student's name, contact details, CV and application information with the Project Director and, for the team selected, with the Startup. The Startup is an independent controller of that data and must use it only for the Project.

10.3If the Student handles personal data belonging to a Startup (for example, its customers or users) during a Project, the Student will do so only as the Startup instructs, keep it secure, not copy it to personal devices or accounts unless the Startup permits, and tell the Startup and the Project Director immediately of any loss or unauthorised access.

11. CONDUCT AND REMOVAL FROM A PROJECT

11.1Headstart may remove the Student from a Project, or suspend or close their platform account, if the Student breaches this Agreement, behaves inappropriately, is inactive without explanation, or if a Startup reasonably requests it. Headstart will tell the Student why and, where practicable, give them the chance to respond.

11.2A Startup may end a Project early. If it does, Headstart will tell the Student promptly and clause 5.1(d) applies.

12. LIABILITY

12.1Headstart introduces students and Startups and supports Projects; it does not control Startups and is not responsible for their acts, omissions, premises, equipment or systems. Any decision by the Student to attend a Startup's premises or another physical location is the Student's own, and the Student should satisfy themselves that it is safe and appropriate.

12.2Nothing in this Agreement limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.

12.3Subject to clause 12.2, Headstart is not liable for any indirect or consequential loss, loss of opportunity, or loss of data, and Headstart's total liability to the Student under or in connection with this Agreement is limited to the greater of (a) the membership fees the Student has paid to Headstart in the twelve months before the claim and (b) £100.

12.4Subject to clause 12.2, the Student is not liable to Headstart or a Startup for the quality or outcome of Project Work carried out in good faith.

13. OPPORTUNITIES AFTER A PROJECT

13.1The Student is free to accept any offer of employment, internship or other engagement from a Startup. Headstart asks the Student to tell Headstart if they accept such an offer within twelve months of the end of a Project, so Headstart can track outcomes and support the Student.

14. ENDING THIS AGREEMENT

14.1Either Party may end this Agreement at any time by written notice to the other. Ending it does not affect any Project already completed, or the clauses listed in clause 3.2.

15. NOTICES

15.1Notices under this Agreement are to be sent by email — to management@headstartglobal.io for Headstart, and to the email address registered on the platform for the Student — and are treated as given on the next business day.

16. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

16.1This Agreement, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it, is governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that the Student may bring a claim in the courts of the country in which they live where the law requires.

17. GENERAL

17.1This Agreement, together with the platform terms of use and privacy policy, is the whole agreement between the Parties about the Student's participation in Projects and replaces any earlier version of the Headstart Student Agreement. If there is a conflict, this Agreement prevails in relation to Projects.

17.2This Agreement may only be changed in writing. Headstart may issue an updated version for each academic year; the Student will be asked to accept it before joining a Project in that year.

17.3Each Startup has the right to enforce clauses 8 and 9 under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. Otherwise no one other than the Parties has rights under this Agreement.

17.4If any part of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. This Agreement is accepted electronically by ticking the acceptance box on the Headstart platform, which has the same effect as a signature.