Startup Year Launch - Celebrating the Power of Collaboration in Entrepreneurship.

The launch of the UNSW Startup Year program marks a significant milestone in the collaboration between the government, industry and academia. This sets the stage for a new era of entrepreneurship education in Australia.

“The University of New South Wales has been instrumental throughout the whole process for Startup Year.”

- Dr Anthony Millgate, Acting First Assistant Secretary, Department of Education.  

Startup Year is a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to support recent graduates in launching their own startup ideas through the establishment of a dedicated HECS-style loan. 

“What's exciting about Startup Year is that it is the first time there's been Commonwealth Government support for graduate entrepreneurship,”
said David Burt, Director of Entrepreneurship at UNSW. 

As the number one university for entrepreneurship in Australia, UNSW has been actively working with the government since 2022 to create a new program that helps the next generation of young Australian entrepreneurs 'take the leap'. While increase the accessiblity to support for founders from more socio-economic and culturally diverse backgrounds. 

“The University of New South Wales has been instrumental throughout the whole process for Startup Year. We did some serious consultations a couple of years ago and they have provided some really good input. UNSW also participated in the Senate inquiry when we were putting the legislation through, which was really helpful.” - Dr Anthony Millgate, Acting First Assistant Secretary, Department of Education  

Anthony has been involved in the Startup Year journey from the very beginning. From comprehensive industry consultations that shaped this ambitious legislation to hosting round tables throughout 2024 supporting the 11 universities across the nation that are bringing the program to life.

Rapid Adaptability, Agility, and Innovation at UNSW.
UNSW is proud to be the first university to get a Startup Year postgraduate qualification accredited- the Graduate Diploma of Entrepreneurship- just 5 months after the official Startup Year Bill was passed in June 2023.  

“It's been a big learning curve for a lot of the university partners on how they can get courses approved more quickly and be more adaptable in that space." Anthony said. 

Universities can often be regarded as slow-moving organisations, the rapid development of the Startup Year program demonstrates that universities can be responsive, agile, and rapidly innovative. 

“The fact that we've got a degree approved in 5 months should not be something we celebrate as an exception, it should be the standard”, stated Prof. Christine Mathies, Senior Deputy Dean (Education & Student Experience), Business School, UNSW.

To be able to launch this education program so quickly, Founders have relied heavily on the Business School and their expertise. We are fortunate to collaborate with a faculty whose leaders support and endorse innovation. We’d like to thank Prof. Nick Wailes, Dean of Lifelong Learning & Director of AGSM, and Associate Prof. Michele Roberts, Associate Dean (Post Experience), UNSW Business School for endorsing the program and taking the leap to support innovation.
 

Value of Industry Networks and Relationships.

One of the value propositions of the UNSW Startup Year Program is fostering lasting relationships. We build and leverage relationships with industry and the broader startup ecosystem to support our aspiring founders, providing them with access to networks, mentors, and expertise. 

Over the last 10 weeks, the UNSW Startup Year cohort has worked hand-in-hand with over 15 industry experts.

Our panel of Experts in Residence ranges from subject matter experts in AI and software technology to serial entrepreneurs. One of them is Dr. Alessio Bonti, ANZ lead for Artificial Intelligence at IBM. 

With the rise of no-code artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the fear and roadblocks from being ‘non-technical founder’ is diminishing. One of the fruits of our collaboration with Dr. Bonti and IBM is the empowerment of our cohort to realise that they can build advanced AI-powered solutions with easy steps. By using simple tools and piecing together existing technology, they can focus on scaling their impact rather than reinventing the wheel. 
 
“In just 10 weeks, I’ve learnt so much - I’d never known that I could build an AI chatbot on my own, and now I'm confident I can. So I’m super grateful to the program” - Reuben Roy, Graduate Architect, 2024 Startup Year Cohort.
 
Startup Year Vision: Making entrepreneurship more accessible, and empowering entrepreneurs to 'take the leap' confidently because “YES, THEY CAN 🚀 ”.

 
Join us in co-creating a more innovative Australia – startupyear@unsw.edu.au

From left to right, top row- David Burt, Anthony Millgate, Rita Wu, Vincent Bang and Jordan Haifer.

Bottom row- Reuben Roy, Avril Lim and Natasha Tupas.