The University of Auckland’s state-of-the-art innovation hub and maker space Unleash Space was created to give students an opportunity to collaborate with others outside of their discipline and to give students access to the tools and skills essential to creating ventures of their own. There could be no more fitting symbol of these two goals than the launch of the Auckland University Makers Club.

Recent University of Auckland student Annabelle Collins is the mastermind behind Modular Realms, a start-up producing magnetic, reversible, game terrain designed for table-top role play games like Dungeons & Dragons. Having prototyped her design using the tools and resources available through the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, her next step was to launch her Kickstarter campaign, which she hoped would give a much needed boost in growing her venture. However, realising there was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the UK, where a number of her 3D printers are based, she didn’t hesitate to put her big plans on hold and dedicate her machines to producing PPE.

A group of 168 secondary school science students from across New Zealand were brought together over summer for inspiration and education by the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum. Workshops were run by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to help fulfil Rotary's aim of providing students with a wide range of science and technology experiences to broaden their understanding of the scope of educational opportunity available to them in the future.

Staff at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship would like to advise of our response to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation. First and foremost, we are committed to the health and safety of our community while taking steps to ensure continuity of our programming in-line with the University’s advice.

Alumnus Manu Sharma works on the Google Nest team as the Product Planner for the Nest thermostat, which, in 2019, was named the smart home product of the decade by CNET. He recently travelled from Silicon Valley to the University of Auckland for a visit, and alongside wife Briana Burgess, experienced biotechnologist and start-up leader, delivered a riveting talk about navigating career journeys to Velocity students at Unleash Space.

Over summer a group of 22 entrepreneurship students from the University of Portland travelled to New Zealand to learn about our entrepreneurial ecosystem. While here they were connected with Velocity students from the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The visit was inspired by Peter Rachor, the University of Auckland’s Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellow, who had previously worked at the University of Portland.

University campuses are the new hotbeds of entrepreneurship. Rod McNaughton, Academic Director of the University of Auckland Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship says the environment for start-ups by students and recent graduates has never been better. He points to a growing number of high-profile businesses with young founders, technologies that level the playing field for new firms and younger founders, decreasing start-up costs, and improved access to mentoring, training and funding.

Annabelle Collins had a clear line of sight of her future career. She was working towards a PhD in Science at the University of Auckland, developing new antibiotics for tuberculosis with computational modelling of enzymes. Her clear path was wrecked by a devastating car accident that resulted in a substantial head injury, and Annabelle had to pause her PhD on health grounds. “My brain just wouldn’t work the way it used to”, she says.

A diverse cohort of 74 students have ignited the entrepreneur within them at our fifth annual Summer Lab programme, unleashing new solutions to some of the world’s problems.

Jonny Almario was studying dance at the University of Auckland, a programme that asks its participants to move their thinking. Pairing his academic knowledge with his extra-curricular experiences with the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) has opened up opportunities for a career in creative thinking and problem solving.