Participants in the Hynds Entrepreneurial Fellows Programme have appreciated the expertise and opportunities the programmes have afforded to breathe new life into a wide range of programmes.
Peter collaborated with Associate Professor Shane Scahill to integrate best practice innovation, business model and entrepreneurship content in the language of the pharmacist, healthcare systems and DHB funding models in support of the Integrated Project for PHARM 412, Pharmacy 5, the 45-point capstone paper for all Bachelor of Pharmacy students.

Associate Professor Scahill says “Pharmacists often have a dual role of being business owners and health care providers. If they are in the public system as hospital pharmacists, they need to be equally innovative to deliver the services expected of them. We met with Peter Rachor late in 2019 and outlined our programme and our interest in infusing these threads into our courses. From the “get go” Peter has been very proactive about supporting this. We want to thank the University and the donors (Hynds Family) for providing access to resources of this nature.”

“An entrepreneurial mindset is important to everyone, and especially students we are preparing to take on the challenges of the future. It helps develop problem-solving and solution-seeking skills in everyone and demystifies things that sound daunting. It shows students in everything from music to philosophy, pharmacy to biochemistry, software engineering to philosophy, how to be part of developing new things and how they can use their skills, knowledge, and passion to get good things done whilst navigate the uncertainty of developing something new and necessitating change.” says Peter on the value of integrating Entrepreneurship and Innovation into curricula.

Students talk of hopes and aspirations for their future, along with that of the planet, institutions, and Governments. Approaching these problems first with a lens of curiosity and empathy, and then using their collective intelligence, living experienced and trainings, as well as working through the significant challenges of implementation and delivery, prepares them for their roles and team members, citizens, and changemakers. Understanding the ambiguity, uncertainty, and risk inherent in this process helps to foster collaboration, trust, and resiliency in students of all ages and backgrounds to prepare for the bright and opportunistic future.

Having made good inroads into delivering entrepreneurial learning experiences to students across a wide range of disciplines, interests, and backgrounds, my next opportunity, working closely with colleagues throughout the University is to embed these foundations in all or most programmes within the institution as part of the rollout of our University of Auckland Taumata Teitei strategic plan, involves integrating Entrepreneurship and Innovation pedagogy holistically, being careful to embrace, social, economic, environmental, and indigenous opportunities as we do so. Further, the institution’s imperatives around introducing Transdiciplinarity and the importance of place offer platforms and forums for greater collaboration with colleagues in achieving these goals.