Wellington over the last ten years has become
one of the most dynamic epicentres for digital
technology, creative economies, and it is
just an exciting place to be right now.
At the centre of this has been VBS students,
VBS alumni, and VBS faculty.
We have alums who have created fantastic companies
which are at the cutting edge of the creative
economy and digital technology. Students who
are doing projects that are providing new
innovations for these organisations. And faculty
who are doing research to help guide those
new innovations that these organisations will
hopefully develop and potentially commercialise.
One of our new initiatives is The Atom. The
Atom is a shared working space targeted towards
student companies. It’s a place for students
to grow their businesses. It’s a place for
members of the community to come together,
to have a place to talk about challenging
issues that are facing our community. It’s
an opportunity for us as a community to think
about what is possible.
We’ve hosted two events here in the past
and it’s been fit for purpose—the meeting
rooms, the space itself—and it’s been
nothing but a pleasure to be able to be here.
There’s great talent coming out of Victoria
Business School. These guys are blue sky thinkers,
they’re looking for opportunities, and this
is the perfect place to be able to explore
their talents as well as build on them.
Students get loads out of being involved in
entrepreneurial activities here at the business
school. Whether that’s creating a business,
like I did with StudySpy, or whether that’s
learning entrepreneurial skills to understand
a business and how the organisation operates,
it ultimately makes them more employable.
There is very much this culture of collaboration
which is extremely important to business.
Victoria University of Wellington have really
catapulted what they offer in terms of entrepreneurship.
Just being so connected to government and
the agencies it can connect students to other
business leaders in Wellington who can help
them learn more about certain aspects of business
and get that practical insight.
We want to be the home of those new companies
that will be the next iteration of what innovation
looks like and we also want to be the place
where the next generation of the workforce
will be created to drive those companies forward.
My primary message to business is that Victoria
Business School is open for partnerships.
This is where innovative ideas are birthed.
This is where new ways of thinking young talent
comes from. So this is the place that businesses
need to be engaging with.
