Australia’s startup accelerator, Startmate, has launched its first Engineering Fellowship which offers experienced engineers of all disciplines the opportunity to build their network within Startmate’s community of ANZ startups, investors and partners.
The launch of the Engineering Fellowship marks an expansion of Startmate’s competitive Fellowship program, which aims to funnel talented operators of all backgrounds into the Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem, and comes on the back of 12 months of strong investment growth within the Australian startup ecosystem.
Program lead Nicole Meaker explains the Engineering Fellowship gives engineers a backstage pass to the tech that’s shaping the future, a space to connect with peers, and
opportunities to upskill: “Engineering skills are in high demand in startups, but there’s currently a bridging gap between engineers and founders which stifles growth on both sides of the equation,” she says.
“For engineers, shifting away from corporate or enterprise employment towards the startup sector presents huge opportunities for personal and professional growth. Founders need their skills to innovate and scale,” adds Meaker.
The Fellowship is a chance for engineers to explore cool tech and join a community of peers
“The Engineering Fellowship is Startmate’s talent pipeline programming doing what it does best: helping talent find a place to thrive in a startup environment and solving the hiring challenges founders face. At its heart, it’s a chance for engineers to explore cool tech and join a community of peers,” Meaker continues.
The launch of the Engineering Fellowship comes on the back of 12 months of strong investment growth within the Australian startup ecosystem. Australia saw a continued rise in venture capital funding between 1 July 2020 and 1 July 2021, to a record US$2.5 billion, up from US$1.95 billion in the previous year, according to the latest KPMG Venture Pulse report.
For engineers, shifting away from corporate or enterprise employment towards the startup sector presents huge opportunities for personal and professional growth.
There’s never been a more exciting time to venture into startups
Head of Startmate’s Fellowship programs Sophia Witherington says there’s never been a more exciting time to venture into startups: “The sheer amount of funding in Australian startups over the last 12-18 months is impressive enough, but it’s also the specificity of challenges that startups are tackling that makes the landscape such a dynamic and compelling one,” she says.
“In addition to software companies, we’re seeing high growth companies emerge in deep tech, hardware, biomedical technology, climate tech, agtech and more. For those with a professional
background in engineering or in technical roles, it’s a smorgasbord of opportunity,” Witherington continues.
The Engineering Fellowship will see fellows connect with technical peers in round-robin style networking events, 1:1 coffee roulettes and digital-world networking; learn from subject matter experts in technical masterclasses; connect with technical startup teams and leaders, get to know the people behind the tech, and build their referral network; be introduced to startups that are hiring today and tomorrow and learn the 101 language of early-stage startups.
Startmate will also offer a limited number of Engineering Fellows one-on-one coaching support with a technical leader from its community.
Program dates:
Applications close: 29th October
Program runs: 8th November – 3rd December
If you’re interested, apply here
About Startmate: Startmate is the epicentre for startup ambition across Australia and New Zealand. The organisation champions curious risk-takers to hit their next milestone, and offers invaluable resources, advice and support along the way. Over the past decade Startmate has invested in 150+ startups, with a collective portfolio value of $1.87 billion, and has created more than 1,400 jobs. Approximately 53 percent of start-ups go on to raise venture capital funding after going through Startmate’s accelerator program.
Founders and team: Startmate was founded by Niki Scevak in 2010 when he gathered 25 startup mentors, including Atlassian cofounder Mike Cannon-Brookes— to commit $10k each for investment into the first cohort of five companies. Today, the organisation is underpinned by a thriving mentor and alumni community of 150+ alumni companies and 100+ mentors across Australia and New Zealand, along with 150 emerging startup operators who are alumni of the Women’s Fellowship program.
For more from Women Love Tech on Startmate, visit here.
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