Idea2Impact
Autumn25 Cohort is now full! We’re seeking expressions of interest for the Spring25 Cohort which kicks off on 2 September 2025 – register your interest now!
AUT postgraduate students have a great track record for turning research into new business ventures.
Recent PhD graduate Dr Balakrishnan Nair is now CEO of PreventS-MD, a company implementing life-saving stroke risk assessment tools in clinical settings. PhD candidate Tanuj Wadhi won the 2023 Innovation Challenge with his athlete monitoring technology #EliteVu. And Dr. Sandra Grau-Bartual turned her PhD research on humidifying ‘smart fabrics’ into a company called RespirAq, which recently secured $3 million in venture capital.
AUT Ventures has played a part in each of these success stories. We are responsible for turning university research and expertise into opportunities for real world impact and commercialisation is a key part of our pathways to impact. We’re proud to partner with Ignite Innovation to present a cohort-based commercialisation programme designed to educate and inspire postgrad students to consider commercialisation.
Results from the first cohort include 100% of participants saying they’d recommend the programme to their peers, giving it an average 4.7/5 rating and facilitator Sabrina Nagel received a 5-star rating.
This introductory programme with four modules runs over eight weeks (approximately 30 hours).
Topics covered:
- Commercialisation models
- AUT Intellectual Property policy
- AUT spinout stories
- Market and competitor analysis
- Market validation
- Value proposition
- Revenue and business models
- Intellectual Property
- Building a brand
- Company structures and investment landscape
- Pitch practice
Previous Participants Share Their Experience
Linda Pham, Industrial Design
Ademar Tutor, Computer and Information Sciences