Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows
The Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows programme helps embed innovation and entrepreneurship into teaching across Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland.
Working alongside academics in all faculties, the programme supports the design of new curricula, modules, and assessments that spark entrepreneurial thinking and equip students with real-world problem-solving and innovation skills.
What makes this programme unique is its adaptability. Academic staff are supported to incorporate innovation and entrepreneurship in ways that resonate within their disciplines. Whether in medicine, engineering, sustainability, arts or humanities, students gain the tools and knowledge to innovate within their field of study.
At the heart of the programme are specialist entrepreneurial teaching fellows who co-create learning experiences with faculty. So far, 17 academic staff have also been trained as champions of innovation, helping students develop the mindset and confidence to pursue new ideas and ventures.
Since launching in 2018, the programme has reached around 13,000 students, earning recognition as a leading model of entrepreneurship education globally. In 2023, Peter Rachor won the People’s Choice Award for Entrepreneurial Educator of the Year (Asia Pacific), and in 2024 received an Educators for Impact Award – an initiative supported by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme.
The origins of the Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows programme
The Hynds Foundation has been a pivotal backer of the University of Auckland Business School's Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) since 2017, initially as one of the founding sponsors of its innovation hub and maker space, Unleash Space. Today, the Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellowship continues to fuel a University-wide movement, helping students across all disciplines to become creative thinkers, problem solvers and action-takers.
Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows
Dr Marissa Kaloga
Marissa’s applied, transdisciplinary research and teaching focus on the roles of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in the transition to a more just and sustainable world. She brings over a decade of global research and practice experience to her work, drawing from prior roles including Lecturer in Social and Community Work at University of Otago, Director of STARlab, Fulbright Scholar to Guinea, West Africa in financial inclusion and entrepreneurial ecosystems, and Director of Innovation at the Economic and Community Development Institute, a leading microfinance organisation in the US.
Peter Rachor
Peter Rachor brings a wealth of varied experience to the role as a former senior executive and an entrepreneur in his own right, with experience in mobile, web and biomedical technologies. Past roles include positions touch as the General Manager of Mobile Communications for British Telecom, Managing Director of Emerging Markets at Octel and founder of two successful multi-million dollar Silicon Valley start-ups, one of which was acquired by a NASDAQ-listed company. Peter also consulted for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, an innovation behemoth.
Prior to the University of Auckland, Peter’s academic career included positions as the Director of Venture Development at the University of New Mexico and Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Portland.