AUT sponsors GEN NZ Unconference
AUT hosted the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) NZ Unconference at its City Campus, bringing together a wide range of organisations including charities like The King’s Trust and Young Enterprise Scheme, (YES), regional incubators and economic development agencies, founders, investors, academics and other members of Aotearoa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown joined AUT Ventures Chief Executive Michael Fielding and GEN NZ Chair, Dave Moskovitz in opening the recent event.
GEN NZ’s annual Unconference is designed to spark energy and ideas and build valuable long-term connections. Day one featured 10 high-impact workshops facilitated by experienced leaders, while day two’s agenda was in true ‘Unconference’ format, where the topics were decided by participants.
AUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Damon Salesa, says, “As the country’s only university of technology and as a champion of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, the university has an important role to play in supporting and empowering our entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“The GEN NZ Unconference was a great platform to achieve this, as well as creating new connections in the startup space and entrepreneurial community.”
Common themes discussed across the two days were the complexity of the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the challenges entrepreneurs have in discovering what support is available, especially as it varies region by region or even town by town. The conference also examined the strategic goals of GEN NZ, its potential to increase its national impact, and whether it could support founders by facilitating mutual support communities.
GEN NZ Chair, Dave Moskovitz, says, “We are grateful for AUT’s support to run our Unconference. There is strong alignment between AUT and GEN NZ, in terms of innovation, commercialisation, investment, and research. More importantly, both GEN NZ and AUT are about growing our community of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial thinkers. We look forward to forming a stronger and deeper relationship between our two organisations and working together to bring the best New Zealand founders, products, and ventures to the world.”
AUT’s commitment to growing the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs is evident by its launch of the AUT Innovation Fund earlier this year, with an allocation of $5 million to invest into spinout companies and impact initiatives.
AUT Ventures Chief Executive Michael Fielding says the fund sits alongside other support for accelerating commercialisation. “It’s a game-changer. The fund lets us back promising ideas and teams at a very early stage, committing support to innovators before they’re ready to seek investment from the angel and VC community. But it’s also going to give us new ways to connect with organisations outside the university.
“We want to help some of Aotearoa’s most innovative minds to transform their research into real-world impact,” he says.