The Entrepreneurial Universities fund was open for applications between 2017 and 2019. Funding allocations for successful applications were available until 2023. The fund is now closed. No new agreements will be entered into, and existing ones will not be renewed once they expire in 2024 or 2025.

Purpose of Fund

The purpose of the Entrepreneurial Universities Fund was to support universities to stimulate increased innovation and entrepreneurship in the university sector through the recruitment of high-calibre academics with entrepreneurial and commercial skills and knowledge.  

Entrepreneurial Universities leveraged the skills and experience of world-leading entrepreneurial academics to drive:

• cutting-edge research to grow New Zealand’s competitive advantage
• university-led innovation and entrepreneurship in existing and emerging industries
• commercially-relevant research that fosters industry collaboration and strengthens economic growth, and
• stronger connections with overseas universities, research institutes and businesses.

Entrepreneurial Universities funding was part of a wider package of initiatives to grow universities’ leadership role in innovation and entrepreneurship across New Zealand.

The funding supported academics to undertake research, and innovative and collaborative activities with industry, not including overhead or capital costs.

The nine Entrepreneurial Universities initiatives

There are nine initiatives that were funded:

The University of Auckland

• Professor Michael Witbrock, Artificial Intelligence (closing 31 December 2024)
• Associate Professor Suranga Nanayakkara, Assistive Augmentation Programme (completed)
• Professor Olaf Diegel, Creative Design and Additive Manufacturing (closing 31 December 2024)
• Professor Mark Billinghurst, Empathic Computing Programme (completed)
• Professor Guglielmo Aglietti, Space Systems Institute (closing 31 December 2024)

The University of Waikato

• Dr Marie Magnusson, Macroalgal Biotechnology Enterprises (completed)
• Professor Albert Bifet, Real-time Analytics of Big Data (completed)

Victoria University of Wellington

• Professor Ken Anjyo, Computational Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme (completed)

University of Canterbury

• Associate Professor Heide Lukosch, Professor Stephan Lukosch and Professor Andrew Phelps, Applied Immersive Gaming Initiative (closing 31 December 2025)