La Trobe’s entrepreneurship ecosystem is transforming the next generation of Australia’s workforce, and industry partners are being invited to reap the rewards now.
Since 2023, students have taken part in a broad program designed to meet them wherever they’re at in their entrepreneurial journey. Activities range from early-stage programs, such as ‘innovation sprints’ and weekly mentoring, to market validation and entrepreneurial mindset programs.
“It's not a marketing course,” says Dr Cerasela Tanasescu, who leads the Entrepreneurship team. “It's about entrepreneurial thinking.”
Students are encouraged to interrogate assumptions, develop clear value propositions, test their ideas through market validation and pitch their solutions confidently.
Industry plays a central role from the start. Companies such as ServiceNow and Deloitte collaborate with La Trobe, and pose real-world challenges and mentor students through the process.
Recent projects have tackled topics like retail safety, reimagining student placements, and university operations powered by AI. Students have even presented solutions directly to company executives.
Moreover, alumni who now work in venture capital are on board to judge the pitch contests and give feedback.
The program focuses on incremental innovation and creating startups with market potential, including non-profit and social issues.
A win for industry
While launching businesses is one outcome, it’s not the only goal.
“Only around 10 per cent will go on to create a sustainable company,” says Dr Tanasescu. “But the others are an amazing talent pool for industry; they’re people who are open, who are innovative and who have the right mindset.”
By connecting with students through La Trobe’s entrepreneurship programs, industry partners gain insight into how emerging professionals approach real-world problems – and uncover new potential hires along the way.
And the benefits go far beyond recruitment. Organisations gain access to fresh thinking and tools that can transform their internal processes. They also tap into cutting-edge academic research and connect with other leaders through the broader innovation ecosystem that La Trobe is nurturing.
“Your mindset changes when you see people working differently,” Dr Tanasescu says.
“It helps with talent retention, training and building an internal culture that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Startup spotlight: Sourcalia
Parsa Fathi credits the La Trobe Startup Year (run in 2024) for helping him launch Sourcalia, a B2B platform that helps Australian exporters expand internationally.
“I started with zero when I came to Australia at the age of 25,” Mr Fathi says. With no existing network but plenty of drive, he set out to “create a job that doesn’t exist yet”.
The program provided Mr Fathi and his peers with structured mentoring, pitch development, and Minimum Viable Product refinement.
One highlight was a five-day innovation sprint in Albury-Wodonga, where students collaborated with the local businesses and council members to develop community-specific solutions. “That experience helped me understand how to solve real problems in real communities,” he says.
Mr Fathi describes the feedback process as transformative, crediting the intensive pitch development with helping him land two clients and gain a clearer direction for his business.
“Without the program, we couldn’t have accessed those professionals, coaches or mentors,” Mr Fathi says. “But thanks to Cerasela and La Trobe, we were all in the same room.”
Looking ahead
The program’s future is ambitious. Eagleworks – the University's innovation centre housed in the Jenny Graves Building on the Melbourne campus – will, in part, act as a student-focused incubator, extending access to mentors, a workspace, events, and funding.
Additionally, a new initiative, LaunchPad, is a 12-week Pre-Accelerator Program for emerging and aspiring founders with technology-led startup ideas and the ambition to turn them into scalable ventures. Made possible with funding from LaunchVic, LaunchPad is the program for high-potential emerging and aspiring founders seeking to uplift their readiness and entrepreneurial capital: Building their mindset, toolkit and connections. For more information, visit: LaunchPad.
By 2028, Dr Tanasescu aims to impact 20-30 per cent of students, creating a significant number of startups and jobs, and making La Trobe one of the most innovative universities in Australia.
They aim to roll out boot camps to help staff in organisations and communities build their entrepreneurial capabilities and innovative thinking.
“We want to change mindsets,” she says. “When you see other people looking at things differently, you start to see things differently too.”
La Trobe also supports accessibility to its programs. Scholarships support students from regional areas to participate in Melbourne-based events, and programs are designed with equity and diversity in mind.
Call to action
Are you an industry leader? Join La Trobe’s innovation ecosystem. From mentoring students and judging pitches to co-designing challenges and leading innovation sprints, there are countless ways to shape the future, together. Email: accelerator@latrobe.edu.au
