Applications are now open for the 2019 round of MacDiarmid Institute Business Scholarships for Alumni

11 September, 2019

The MacDiarmid Institute is offering a limited number of competitive scholarships for alumni to undertake further postgraduate study in business-related areas.

This call is open to alumni who completed their PhD under the supervision of a MacDiarmid Institute investigator.

These scholarships can be used for qualifications including the Masters of Commercialization and Entrepreneurship at Auckland and other qualifications and courses relating to business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. It is intended that the scholarships will cover tuition fees, however stipends may also be considered in the case of full-time study.

Applications must include a Curriculum Vitae and an application statement. This statement should address;

details of the proposed study, including budget and justification,
the candidate’s career development to date and future aspirations,
how the proposed study will benefit New Zealand industry,
the extent of previous engagement with the MacDiarmid Institute.

Applications are due by 1 October 2019, and should be sent by email to:

Catherine Gibbs

Centre Manager, The MacDiarmid Institute

catherine.gibbs@vuw.ac.nz

"I really had to get out of my comfort zone; you need to know what makes an idea unique."
Dr Nihan Aydemir 2017 Business Scholarship recipient

MacDiarmid Institute alumna Dr Nihan Aydemir: biosensors

MacDiarmid Institute alumna Dr Nihan Aydemir discusses her research into biosensors.

This video includes captions.

August 9, 2018

2018 Business Scholarship recipents

Eldon Tate

Eldon Tate will undertake the Advanced Management Program offered by Melbourne Business School. After completing his PhD at Victoria University of Wellington, Eldon co-founded and became CEO of Inhibit Coatings Ltd.

In his role as CEO Eldon hopes to use the skills learnt through The Advanced Management Program to develop his leadership capabilities and build Inhibit Coatings into a successful deep tech company.

Hannah Zheng

Hannah Zheng will take a Postgraduate Diploma in Global Business at AUT. Hannah did her PhD in Physics at Victoria University, studying with MacDiarmid Institute Principal Investigator Dr Natalie Plank, and is currently working as a Materials Scientist at Revolution Fibres.

Hannah is keen to learn more about global business, to reinforce the technical knowledge she currently brings to the projects.

Rob Staniland

Pressure is constantly increasing on the scientific community to provide answers to the broad range of complex issues we face as a society. Since Rob has finished his Ph.D. and started working for Mint Innovation, a deep-tech start-up company, he has come to appreciate the significance of the role that such companies hold in addressing these issues.

By studying a Masters of Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship, Rob will ensure that he is in a position to help take scientific solutions to these issues out of the laboratory and to the market.

"It was a bit of a black box for me - how do I gain an appreciation of how the business world works?"
Dr Matthew Cowan 2017 Business Scholarship recipient

Sam Yu

Sam Yu will take professional development short courses in governance and leadership management from the Institute of Directors and Icehouse, which will further develop his Board and Investor experiences. Sam did a PhD at Canterbury University supervised by Professors Alison Downard and Richard Blaikie.

Since then, he has been heavily involved in business development and marketing for start-ups to commercialise technologies from New Zealand.

Akshita Wason

Akshita Wason will take the Masters of Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship at Auckland. Akshita did her PhD at the University of Canterbury, worked at the start-up Hi-Aspect, and is currently with the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor.

She will use the scholarship to develop skills to incorporate the challenges faced by typical deep-tech projects from local market launch to establishing a global presence while studying general policy-induced effects on the innovation ecosystem.