Our history

Knowledge Wave conference

Catching the Knowledge Wave was one of the biggest meetings of minds to take place in New Zealand history. The conference hosted about 450 academics, officials, politicians, economists and business leaders who discussed ways of lifting New Zealand’s economic performance.

Led by the New Zealand Prime Minister and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland, it was a catalyst for the realisation that New Zealand could no longer remain primarily a producer of agricultural commodities but instead transform itself into a high-value, knowledge-based economy. The Knowledge Wave conference was the catalyst for the University of Auckland taking an increasingly proactive role in the formative years of those who are to become our country's leading business-savvy scientists and engineers.

Creation of the Spark student entrepreneurship programme

The University of Auckland responded to the country’s productivity and development challenges by building a platform for a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. At the heart of this was Spark, the entrepreneurial-development programme and business planning competition that students were empowered to run.

Creation of Chiasma

Chiasma is a national New Zealand organisation that creates links between academia and the wider science, technology and engineering (STEM) industries, with the purpose of helping members to develop a successful and innovative career. Chiasma was launched in September 2004 by Priv Bradoo, Swati Sharma and Daniel Sun, three PhD students in the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, with support from staff at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship established

The University of Auckland Business School formally establishes a Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to create the infrastructure to maintain and grow entrepreneurial education at the University of Auckland. In its first iteration, the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning was founded to foster entrepreneurship, innovation and business growth.

Creation of the Master of Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship

The Master of Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship was designed to give participants the knowledge and skills to successfully commercialise new products, services and processes based on research discoveries, inventions and new ideas.

Top five status from MIT in Entrepreneurial Education

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.

Centre expansion

In late 2015, the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship received $1.1m over three years from the University of Auckland Business School’s Endowment Fund for the purpose of increasing the size and scope of programmes delivered. The centre creates a new and ambitious vision to lead and empower innovation and entrepreneurship in the southern hemisphere.

To quantify this vision, the Centre aims to engage 10% of the student population by 2020. The target figure of 10% is chosen purposefully. Research and practice in organisational development show that when 10% of an organisation starts to change their attitude and behaviours, this becomes the tipping point for culture change.

Spark rebrands as Velocity

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.

Creation of the Venture Lab incubator

The University of Auckland’s incubator is designed to support students and staff who have developed a venture concept by further developing their capability and giving them the expertise, space and resources to fully ignite their idea.

Unleash Space opens

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 its Māori name, Kura Matahuna – The journey into the future.

Launch of the Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows Programme

The Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows Programme aims to embed innovation and entrepreneurship in the curricula across the University of Auckland by working with and supporting academics from all faculties.

Entrepreneurial University of the Year

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 of how entrepreneurship can be at the heart of a higher education institution.”

CIE wins international award for outstanding student engagement and leadership

CIE wins an award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centres (GCEC) for Outstanding Student Engagement and Leadership. The GCEC is a consortium of 250 leading university entrepreneurship programmes that work together to assist each other in advancing, strengthening and celebrating the role of universities in educating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The Student Engagement and Leadership Award was for the category of schools with more than 5,000 students. It is the first time a university from the southern hemisphere has won a GCEC award in its 20-year history.

November: CIE opens second location

The Business School opens a new 5G technology hub, administered by CIE. Te Ahi Hangarau offers a location to deliver curricular and co-curricular education opportunities utilising technologies including AR, VR, IoT and 3D printing.

January: CIE wins award from the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE)

The University of Auckland is the only institute outside North America to take out a USASBE award. CIE is awarded for Entrepreneurship Education Excellence for innovation in co-curricular education, in recognition of its Summer Lab programme.

June: Awards from Accreditation Council of Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities

University of Auckland is named as runner up for Entrepreneurial University of the Year (Asia Pacific) for the Triple E Awards, and Business School Professional Teaching Fellow Peter Rachor named a finalist in the Entrepreneurial Educator of the Year (Asia Pacific) category, as well as receiving the most votes in an international people’s choice survey.

August: 10,000 inducted into CIE maker spaces

CIE reaches a milestone with 10,000 users having completed induction into its maker spaces, Kura Matahuna, Unleash Space and 5G lab Te Ahi Hangarau.

October: Velocity programme named Academic Initiative of the Year

CIE is awarded for the outstanding achievements of its Velocity entrepreneurship development programme by the Global Entrepreneurship Network New Zealand (GEN NZ).