OUR HISTORY

The University of Auckland is named Entrepreneurial University of the Year, the ultimate award at the Asia-Pacific Triple E Entrepreneurship and Engagement Excellence Awards in Higher Education. The competition received over 300 entries, with 60 finalists from 17 countries. Professor Thorsten Kliewe, Chair of ACEEU and the Triple E Awards, said “the University of Auckland is a great example on how entrepreneurship can be at the heart of a higher education institution.”

The University of Auckland’s state-of-the-art innovation hub and maker space opens. Unleash Space was founded as a partnership between the Business School and the Faculty of Engineering. Its creation was led by the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, empowered through the support of generous donors Sir Owen G Glenn, Beca, Chau Hoi Shuen Foundation, Hynds Foundation, Li Ka-Shing Foundation and PwC. Rereata Makiha, the University of Auckland Business School Kaumatua gifts Unleash Space it’s Māori name, Kura Matahuna – The journey into the future.

When Spark was first named it was to convey the spark of an idea – of possibility and potential. As the Centre enters the next phase of support for student entrepreneurs in New Zealand, the founding programme’s name is changed to reflect the changing pace that ventures need to proceed at in the modern world. The pace of growth will be further enabled by the Centre’s upcoming new support services and facilities.

The University of Auckland is identified as one of the world’s top five “emerging leaders in entrepreneurship” expected to become a major international innovation powerhouse in the decades ahead. The Spark entrepreneurship programme is noted as “the beating heart of entrepreneurship at the university”. The MIT Skoltech Initiative conducted a two-year study to find the world’s best university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems operating outside the technology-driven innovation hubs of MIT, Stanford University and the University of Cambridge. The report, which says the University of Auckland offers an exciting blueprint for other universities operating in similar circumstances across the world, was written to offer insights into how universities can transform their institutions toward a more entrepreneurial model, particularly in environments that may not be naturally conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation.