A recent study has found that New Zealand has the highest percentage of women graduates who found start-ups, at 13.4%. Of these 13.4%, almost half are from the University of Auckland.

Trudi Gwillim is the Associate Director of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She has a background in senior leadership and has studied positive psychology with the Langley Group Institute. Earlier this year she was asked to speak on the topic of Imposter Syndrome at the University of Auckland’s professional staff conference ASPIRE.

New Zealand’s next generation of star innovators and entrepreneurs have been identified at this year’s Velocity $100k Challenge competition finals. Among the winners were an aquaculture technology venture set to revolutionise the mussel industry, a space technology venture solving power supply issues, a poi-based health and wellbeing venture, a glaucoma-detection tool and a social venture designed to aid the Pacific’s medical equipment donation systems.

Nebula is a data visualisation company that aims to transform how we understand the media landscape by visualising how topics are discussed in the news media. The venture was borne out of our Velocity programme as a collaboration between University of Auckland physicists.

Thousands of young New Zealanders have been taught basic financial literacy because of a charitable trust that began life at the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

In 2019 an Innovation category was introduced at the University of Auckland Blues Awards . Ultimate Bowls Championship co-founder Rebecca Jelley was the recipient of the overall Innovation category award.

Each year members of the Velocity student entrepreneurship programme organising committee have the opportunity to travel abroad on an exploration and discovery trip to an international business hub. In 2019 the Velocity missionary team had the opportunity to go on a 10 day trip to South Korea and Singapore.

Janna Tay is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Arts and Laws at the University of Auckland. Though she has not yet graduated, Janna has already built an impressive array of experience. She is a published poet and playwrite who has performed in noted theatres and has also immersed herself in the more revolutionary corners of the worlds of law and business, inspired by her experiences with the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.