Summer Lab

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.

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

Programme commitment: This is a 4-week programme starting on Monday 20 January (see dates below). The time commitment is approximately 35 hours in the first three weeks and 20 hours in the final week.  

Location: Summer Lab is an in-person experience conducted in the Centre for innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Kura Matahuna Unleash Space, within the City Campus. Remote learning is not available for this programme. 

Applications are closed for the 2025 programme.

About Summer Lab

Summer Lab is a 4-week 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. 

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What will I learn during the four weeks?

Through developing your idea, you will learn a range of transferable skills that will serve you well whatever you go on to do in life. 

• How to come up with an idea 
• Basic start-up tools to test your idea 
• How to talk to customers 
• How to interact in a team environment 
• How to pitch your idea/product 
• How to interact with mentors/potential customers 
• How to talk to investors 
• Workshops about financial basics, negotiation, intellectual property (IP), raising capital etc. 

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What are the benefits of Summer Lab?

University of Auckland Distinguished Graduate Awards 

Your participation in Summer Lab can be formally recognised through the co-curricular recognition programme. Summer Lab will earn you nearly half of what you need to obtain a University of Auckland Distinguished Graduate Award. This prestigious accolade is designed to formally recognise the more practical aspects of your university experience to signify to prospective employers the wide range of skills you have developed and the holistic approach you have taken to your university education. 

You will also have opportunities to learn about CIE’s range of support if after Summer Lab you want to continue to bring your ideas to life. 

Build networks and make new friends. 

You will meet and learn from industry experts who will be your advisers and mentors throughout the programme. You will also work with a diverse group of people from a variety of backgrounds and study disciplines who all have the common goal of wanting to take ideas off the paper and into real life.  

Gain new skills for life and work 

Challenge your thinking and be amazed by what you achieve through new and enhanced skills such as problem-solving, ideation, validation, teamwork, negotiation, getting funding, project and more. The skills, knowledge and experiences you will have at Summer Lab are highly transferable for a range of careers including social innovator, entrepreneur/start-up founder, product manager, business development or innovation manager and consultant. 

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2025 Summer Lab schedule

Week 1:  

• Monday 20 January – 9am – 5pm 
• Tuesday 21 January – Friday 24 January – 10am – 5pm 

 Week 2:   

• [Auckland Anniversary] 
• Tuesday 28 January – Fri 31 January – 10am – 5pm

Week 3:  

• Monday 3 February – Wednesday 5 Wednesday – 10am – 5pm 
• [Waitangi Day] 
• Friday 7 February – 10am – 5pm 

Week 4:   

• Monday 10 February – Tuesday 11 February – 10am – 5pm  
• Wednesday 12 February – Final Presentation and celebration – 10am – 6pm 

Meet the facilitator

Dr Deborah Shepherd 

Deb is a part-time Senior Lecturer at the University, designing and delivering some of CIE’s programmes that support innovators and early-stage start-up founders. She also has roles as a board member, advisor, investor, educator and business owner, including a board role with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), New Zealand’s international business development agency. Deb is also Advisor to the New Zealand Government’s Minister of Small Business, and Chair of Soul Capital, a social impact investment firm. 

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Reviews

“Taking part in Summer Lab gave me a healthier perspective on my abilities, and I overcame a fear of making mistakes. It was a unique and extraordinary experience and it taught me how an idea can flourish and grow; having complete faith in your plan and committing yourself fully to its realisation. I learnt that setbacks are steppingstones to success, and essential for achieving success. It was a fantastic opportunity to expand my network of friends and gain valuable professional insight.” – Hansi (Health Science) 

“Summer Lab is challenging and exciting. We solved an idea/social issue without technology which is impressive in itself.” Would recommend Summer Lab 100% – Ashwini Maheandran (Education and Social Work) 

“I enjoyed Summer Lab with all problems and failures. I think Summer Lab gives you more live skills than our academic education.” – Irina Rerikh (Business) 

“Summer Lab is like running on a treadmill that’s going just slightly faster than I can run whilst being surrounded by excitement and ideas!” – Annabelle Collins (Science) 

“Summer Lab was an insightful & empowering experience – do it!” – Leah Beaumont (Law) 

“Summer Lab is a rollercoaster that made me experience really high highs and really low lows, all within the space of an hour, multiple times a day, every day, for the past four weeks.” – Suvarna Swaraj (Engineering) 

“An incredibly amazing programme like no other (believe me it’s worth it!)” – Srishti Bhardwaj (Arts & Science) 

“A fast-paced learning experience that teaches you a lot of different skills (including general/life skills) that is also super fun along the way!” – Pooja Nagaraj (Medical and Health Sciences) 

“I would do it all over again!” – Carolina Muthyala (Arts & Law) 

“Summer Lab can change your life!” – Aashritha Santhan (Business) 

“The smartest decision I made this summer was to join Summer Lab.” – Hang Zhao (Science) 

Be inspired!

You’ll be truly surprised at where Summer Lab could take you. Be inspired by some of our past participants: 

Develop networks and opportunities

Socius XR is a social venture that aims to help neurodiverse people into work. Their venture idea and team were first developed at Summer Lab. Since then they have been flown to Spain to present their venture at an international conference, have won numerous grants and established an Autism Advocacy Advisory Board. Learn more

Practice entrepreneurship for when you do get your Big Idea

Commerce student Toby Thomas-Smith took part in Summer Lab in 2021. While the idea generated during Summer Lab isn’t one that he wanted to continue with, Toby says that Summer Lab was invaluable in learning entrepreneurial skills that have helped him with his start-up EasyRent, which has since been relaunched in New York as Kiki, Toby recently secured an incredible USD$6M in seed capital for his venture!