Institutional services · Innovation
Turn student ideas into ventures, and your campus into a centre for innovation.
Skillern helps colleges establish and operate incubation centres: from feasibility, space and governance to pre-incubation programmes, mentor networks and reporting. We connect the centre with our Entrepreneurship Development Program so students progress from learning to building.
Why now
Innovation is now part of how institutions are evaluated.
National policy increasingly expects higher education institutions to support innovation and entrepreneurship, through initiatives such as the Ministry of Education's Institution's Innovation Council, and accreditation frameworks that assess research, innovation and extension activity. An incubation centre that is well designed but poorly run quickly becomes an empty room. The difference is programming, mentorship and consistent operation, which is where Skillern focuses.
Scope of work
Everything required to launch and sustain a centre.
01
Feasibility and design
Assessment of institutional readiness, focus sectors and a centre blueprint.
02
Space and infrastructure
Layout for co-working, meeting and prototyping spaces, and equipment planning.
03
Governance and policy
Incubation policy, selection criteria, IP and equity guidelines, and an advisory board.
04
Programmes
Ideation bootcamps, hackathons, pre-incubation, and the Entrepreneurship Development Program.
05
Mentor and industry network
Entrepreneurs, investors and domain experts engaged as mentors and judges.
06
Operations and reporting
Centre management, event calendar, venture tracking and reports for management and accreditation.
Roadmap
A phased launch.
01
Plan
Feasibility, focus sectors, governance and budget.
02
Build
Space setup, policies, mentor onboarding.
03
Launch
Ideation bootcamp, first cohort selection, EDP delivery.
04
Operate
Ongoing programmes, demo days and reporting.
Engagement models
Model A · Advisory
Blueprint, policies and launch plan for your team to execute.
Model B · Setup
We establish the centre and run the first cohort with your team.
Model C · Setup and operate
We establish and operate the centre for an agreed term.
Other institutional services
Start your institution's incubation centre.
We will assess readiness and propose a blueprint, budget and launch plan.