Hands on, minds open at Summer Lab programme

2025 Summer lab cohort

Each January and February, while many university students are relaxing and making the most of the summer break, a different kind of energy takes hold at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland. The team at the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) are in full swing, hosting their annual Summer Lab programme. Now in its ninth year, Summer Lab has become a key part of the University’s calendar year. Designed as a practical introduction to early-stage innovation and entrepreneurship, the programme focuses on hands-on learning, teamwork, and developing an entrepreneurial mindset.

Summer Lab is built on the idea that learning happens by doing. There are no lectures or exams—just a fast-paced, practical programme that takes students through the process of identifying a problem, validating a market, and developing a potential solution. For some participants, it’s their first time working on a start-up idea. For others, it’s a chance to test an idea they’ve been sitting on for a while. Either way, the focus is on action and progress, not perfection.

In 2025, 103 students completed the 3.5 week programme . It was one of the most diverse cohorts yet, with students from all faculties and a near-even split between undergraduate and postgraduate participants and an even balance of domestic and international students. This mix of backgrounds, knowledge and experiences brought fresh perspectives to the table and helped create a highly collaborative environment.

From day one, participants are encouraged to explore problems they care about. The programme introduced the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and New Zealand’s National Science Challenges  as starting points for identifying issues with real-world impact. Teams form early in the first week, and by the end of it, they are already gathering insights from potential customers and industry contacts.

First-year student Sophie Dutton was one of this year’s participants. She says, “It’s been a transformative experience in more ways than one. As someone who’s always been a bit more on the introverted side, this programme helped me step outside of my comfort zone. One of the highlights of Summer Lab was learning from the incredible guest speakers who shared their insights and expertise. From entrepreneurs to industry leaders, their stories were both inspiring and practical, offering us valuable guidance as we worked through our projects.”

The core of Summer Lab is its experiential learning approach. Students work in teams to move an idea through different stages—problem identification, market validation, prototyping, and finally pitching. Along the way, they get advice and feedback from experienced mentors, many of whom have built their own ventures or are active in New Zealand’s start-up scene. Sessions on topics like negotiation, financial basics, and pitching are woven into the schedule, providing practical tools that students can apply immediately to their projects.

Summer Lab was primarily delivered by Professional Teaching Fellow Dr Deborah Shepherd and CIE Programme Advisor Liudmyla Beraud, with contributions from mentors and guest speakers.  Liudmyla says “Summer Lab was really a team effort, with many people in the CIE team working  behind the scenes. A practical, experiential programme like Summer Lab requires a lot of thinking, planning, and coordination. But it’s all worth it when you see not just the learning but also personal transformation in the participants.”

A major highlight for many participants was the chance to use the University’s makerspace. Sessions run by CIE Technology and Prototyping Advisor Trevor McGurk were incredibly popular. Teams got access to equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters to create prototypes of their solutions. For students who have mostly worked on theory-based projects in their studies, the experience of making something tangible is a game-changer. “There’s something about holding your prototype that makes the idea real,” says Trevor. “It moves the conversation from ‘what if’ to ‘here it is.’”

The makerspace is where ideas are put to the test—and where participants often realise they need to rethink, redesign, and try again. That process of iteration is a key part of what Summer Lab is designed to teach.

The programme wraps up with presentations. Each team presents their solution to a panel of experts from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The goal isn’t to secure funding but to practice communicating an idea  and key learnings clearly and persuasively. It’s a milestone moment for participants, many of whom start the programme unsure if they’ll have anything to show by the end. “You see the change over the four weeks,” says Liudmyla. “By the end of the programme , students are presenting with confidence and clarity.”

Summer Lab 2025 was met with strong positive feedback. The programme achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS)—a measure of how likely someone is to recommend a product or service—three times higher than the national average for tertiary education in New Zealand. For CIE, it’s a clear sign that the programme is making a lasting impression on participants.

Summer Lab is part of CIE’s wider commitment to developing innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets at university. Since its inception, the programme has grown in size and reputation. Next year marks the tenth anniversary of Summer Lab, and plans are already underway on how to build upon its legacy.