The Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship was established in 2015 with a generous gift from alumni Peter Wade (1971), to deliver immersive education programs for entrepreneurs, investors and educators. 

Wade Institute was established in response to a strong interest amongst young people in creating new businesses, to help facilitate the development of a generation of young people who will help to reinvent the Australian economy from the bottom up. Since its inception, Wade Institute has delivered the University of Melbourne’s Master of Entrepreneurship degree, through a unique partnership with the Faculty of Business and Economics. 

A significant development for the College, the establishment of the Wade Institute came out of responding to the question of ‘what do we need to do in this era to fulfil Francis Ormond’s vision in our time?’ The move to work in partnership with the University in the delivery of a degree fulfilled an aspiration that the College had held since its earliest days, when it explored whether it could provide subjects for the medical degree.

 

We are a smart nation but still too few of our great ideas are generating the future of our economy. I have been involved in education for a while now and it has given me enormous faith in the extraordinary talent of young Australians.”

– Peter Wade (1971)

Students of the Master of Entrepreneurship are welcomed as Ormond non-residents, meaning they have the opportunity to integrate into the graduate community. The building itself also integrates well into the Ormond campus, sitting on what used to be the tennis courts and gardeners’ sheds. Those tennis courts now sit atop Wade’s roof, while the design of the building itself is intended to inspire creativity for those inside. 

Today, the Wade Institute continues to deliver the Master of Entrepreneurship, as well as the VC Catalyst investor education program, powered by LaunchVic, and UpSchool, our teacher professional development program. 

 

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