Summer Lab 2025

Start-up your summer with this international award-winning programme, where you will learn how to take a problem and develop your own innovative solution!

Summer Lab is a 4-week, in-person accelerated learning experience that is designed to equip participants with the tools to make a difference in the world through knowledge, connections and practical skills.

Summer Lab is a unique and prestigious programme, that has previously won awards from the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) Global Award and the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Award (USASBE).

Innovation and entrepreneurship are vital tools that enable people to make significant change in the world. You will learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), identify local or global problems to solve, form teams with other people you will meet at the programme and come up with an idea and test its applications.

We aim to inspire through action-oriented learning, including:

• hands-on workshops

• access to entrepreneurs and industry leaders as guest speakers

• support by mentors

• using tools and frameworks to shape innovative thinking

• exploring emerging technologies and how these might support your solution

• experience using a range of entrepreneurial tools, such as business canvases

• create and build a prototype

On the final day, your team will share their development journey by presenting to a panel of judges. You will then receive feedback and guidance.

Through Summer Lab, you’ll get to be a part of an entrepreneurially-minded community that wants to transform ideas into tangible, robust solutions for a better world. You’ll connect with others also interested in making a difference, ideate solutions, learn tools to develop your ideas, work in teams, and get the support of mentors and facilitators. And have a lot of fun along the way! All you need to bring is your creativity, skills, and enthusiasm.

FREE for all current students and staff of the University of Auckland, and no prior experience with innovation, entrepreneurship or business is required.

Applications close on 1 November 2024 (Spaces are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis).

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Unleash Space, 20 Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand