Volunteer

Our programmes bring together academic thinking, practical learning and real-world experience. Volunteers from the entrepreneurial and business communities play an important role in helping bring that learning to life, sharing their experience, expertise and perspective with the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.

“Supporting smart, enthusiastic people learn and grow in their understanding is perhaps the most rewarding thing you can do – and in this case, we’re working with the brightest talent in New Zealand. So many of the teams are looking to truly change the world with their innovations – and they know it’s possible because of those who have gone before them in earlier years. It is immensely rewarding for the mentors to see real-life outcomes, sometimes many years later, from a team that benefited in its early days from just a few hours of your time.” 

Debra Hall - entrepreneur, investor, director

Volunteer opportunities include: 

The Velocity Ideas Challenge is also known as the “1,000 words for $1,000 competition”.

Around 300 entries are assessed by 60–80 judges with relevant knowledge and expertise. Working in judging teams of three to four, you will assess around 10–15 entries and help identify those to be nominated for a prize.

The time commitment is approximately 10 hours over one week.  

The Velocity $100k Challenge brings together more developed and often more technical venture ideas.

Approximately 50 judges assess the entries, with each judging team reviewing around eight to 10 submissions and helping identify the ventures that progress to the next stage of the competition.

The time commitment is approximately 10 hours over one week.  

Launchpad supports the top entries from the Velocity $100k Challenge as they develop and strengthen their ventures.

Mentors work with a participant team once a week over six weeks, sharing practical experience, asking constructive questions and helping founders test and refine their thinking.

The commitment is approximately one mentoring session per week for six weeks. 

Participants in our programmes often need specialist knowledge to help them work through a specific challenge or opportunity.

Subject matter experts provide targeted advice in areas such as technology, science, intellectual property, finance, marketing, regulation, product development and industry-specific topics.

The initial commitment is one hour with a participant or team. Any further support can be agreed directly between the volunteer and participant if both would find it useful.  

We work with experienced founders and industry professionals to deliver practical workshops that support participants as they develop their ideas and ventures.

Topics vary across our programmes and may include customer discovery, pitching, business models, marketing, finance, intellectual property and founder capability.  

We invite founders, business leaders and industry experts to share their experience and insights with our students and participants.

Speaking opportunities range from Velocity events and Founder Fireside Chats to careers-focused events and programme sessions.  

If you are interested in volunteering with the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, complete our volunteer expression of interest form and tell us about your experience, interests and areas of expertise.

We use this information to match volunteers with relevant opportunities across our programmes and events as they arise.