Velocity

Velocity is our flagship entrepreneurship development programme, delivered by a student leadership committee in partnership with CIE. Velocity offers a year-long comprehensive programme, where participants can pick and choose which parts of the programme they wish to partake in.

In 2023, the team delivered a hackathon, a sustainability innovation weekend workshop, Whiua Ki Te Ao - a Māori entrepreneurship seminar, a Women in Entrepreneurship event, Pasifika Talaona - a Pacific entrepreneurship seminar, and competitions including the Velocity Ideas Challenge and start-up planning competition the Velocity $100k Challenge. This year, Velocity received the most entries for the Velocity $100k Challenge ever, with a staggering 106 venture ideas received and assessed by our community of industry professionals and academics.

Summer Lab

Our Summer Lab programme ran over four weeks in January and February. More than 80 participants learned about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), identified a problem to solve, formed teams and came up with a start-up plan based on their solution. In 2023, CIE won an award for Entrepreneurship Education Excellence for Summer Lab from the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Researcher Hatchery

In 2023, CIE launched a brand-new Researcher Hatchery on behalf of UniServices and the Office of Research Strategy and Integrity. The Hatchery will enable researchers at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland to identify new ways to make an exponential societal or commercial impact through their research. The Programme has been established to further contribute to the already significant impact that research has had on New Zealand’s prosperity.

A 2023 report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) estimates that 8.2% – 9.7% of New Zealand’s economic activity (GDP) is a consequence of university research and ideas permeating out into the economy over time.

Start-Up Studio

Start-up Studio is CIE’s co-working space, based within the Unleash Space, with wraparound support.  

Kiki, a New York based sub-letting start-up was initially formulated by its founder, Toby Thomas-Smith, while studying at the University of Auckland, where he was almost a permanent resident in CIE's Start-up Studio. This year Kiki raised US$6 million in seed capital.

Generation Changemakers

Twice a year, each cohort of the University of Auckland’s inbound study abroad and exchange students are given the opportunity to learn about innovation and entrepreneurship as tools to address climate issues. This optional, extra-curricular opportunity is delivered to students of diverse subject areas, organised by the International Office in partnership with CIE.

It’s an intense programme where participants gain valuable transferable skills in communication, critical thinking, teamwork and collaborative project planning, emotional intelligence, and socio-political awareness. When they leave us, we hope they feel empowered to become passionate activists and changemakers in their own communities and beyond.

Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership Programme

The Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership Programme is a free full-year, part-time programme for University of Auckland doctoral candidates from all disciplines, designed to develop entrepreneurial mindset and skills and to help participants explore different career paths after completing their doctoral studies. The Programme incorporates monthly workshops and a 3-day residential workshop.

Venture Lab

Venture Lab is the University of Auckland’s incubator programme that plays a crucial role in helping the winning teams from CIE’s Velocity $100k Challenge continue to turn their start-up ideas into real-world ventures. Over six months, participants benefit from dedicated mentors, the collegial support of peers in their cohort, access to funding and other benefits.

Vanguard Entrepreneurial Leaders Expedition

The Vanguard programme gives high-potential student leaders the opportunity to partake in an all-expenses paid study tour of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial ecosystem, with introductions to some of the world’s leading innovators, thanks to CIE’s networks.

This year’s cohort met with the CEO of Allbirds, toured Stanford’s D.School, and experienced site visits to iconic tech giant Amazon, biotech company Synthego and the innovation hub Plug and Play, and more.

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. In 2023, the Hynds programme supported the education of nearly 3,000 students.

21st Century Challenges

Embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Rapid emerging technological advancement is disrupting the way we live and work. CIE has embraced technology education as one way to support its core work of educating tomorrow's innovators and entrepreneurs. In order to be innovative using technology, it's first essential to understand its possibilities.

On 30 November 2022, Chat GPT was unleashed to the public.

By February 2023, Business School and CIE staff had developed course content to introduce use cases for Artificial Intelligence (AI). CIE staff built a digital human to co-present this introductory video, which students and staff receive in advance of in-person AI tutorials.

Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are an urgent call for action, providing a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. CIE uses the UNSDGs as the framework for much of its programme design, and our CIE community are developing a myriad of solutions to address needs in health, education, energy and more.

Velocity Supporters

Velocity provides incredible development opportunities and thousands of dollars of funding every year, made possible with the support of:

Tony Falkenstein - Just Life Group

The Vanguard Entrepreneurial Leaders Expedition is made possible by the generous support of philanthropist and entrepreneur Tony Falkenstein, who accompanied the University of Auckland cohort this year on the study tour.

Hynds Foundation

The Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows Programme is made possible through a generous philanthropic gift from the Hynds Foundation.

CIE Volunteers

CIE's connection with industry experts is an important part of our offering. We rely on around 300 volunteers from the entrepreneurial and business communities to share their experiences and enable the next generation of change-makers.

CIE volunteers make an invaluable contribution to our community through their help as mentors, competition judges and as guest lecturers.