Deakin Founder Pathways T2: Week 1 Recap

Week one of Deakin Founder Pathways T2 is officially done, and it’s already been a big one.

With 88 students registered, strong participation across online and in-person sessions, and students already forming teams and developing their own ideas, the first week has set the tone for what’s ahead.

The best part?

Students aren’t just learning about entrepreneurship. They’re already starting to build.

Students starting exploring their ideas

From the first sessions, students have been bringing their own ideas into the program and looking for ways to turn them into something real.

Some have formed teams. Others have paired up. A few are going solo.

What they have in common is a willingness to tackle real problems and explore what it might take to build a solution.

That’s what makes Deakin Founder Pathways so exciting. Students are given the space to explore their ideas, work with others and start putting entrepreneurial thinking into practice.

Week 1 by the numbers

The first week brought students together across Workshop 1 and the program’s first Hackathon.

Here’s how it shaped up:

88 registrations

Workshop 1

• 15 online attendees
• 16 in-person attendees
• 31 attendees total

Hackathon

• 16 online attendees
• 16 in-person attendees
• 32 attendees total

Students have also submitted their first problem briefs, marking Checkpoint 1 of the program.

Early feedback has been positive, with students sharing encouraging responses around program facilitation and their experience so far.

Learning by doing

The first week wasn’t about sitting back and listening.

Students were actively participating, working through problems and beginning to shape their ideas.

The Hackathon gave students another opportunity to get stuck in, whether they joined online or in person.

They collaborated, tested their thinking and started working out where their ideas could go next.

And that’s the kind of learning we love at HEX.

You learn by doing.

You figure things out by trying.

And sometimes, the first version of an idea looks very different from where you eventually end up.

A strong start with the Deakin community

Week one also brought members of the Deakin team into the experience, with Sarah, Charlotte and two other Deakin team members joining a session to see the program in action.

Students were actively participating throughout the session, giving the Deakin team a chance to see the energy building firsthand.

The HEX and Deakin teams have also been keeping communication consistent throughout the program, with regular updates, recaps and stakeholder communication helping everyone stay connected to what’s happening.

Keeping students engaged

Outside the sessions themselves, students are staying connected through regular communications across email and Teams channels.

The team is also adding a little extra fun to the experience, with door prizes, free snacks and incentives tied to selected workshop activities.

Because sometimes a workshop is better with snacks.

These small touches are helping create an environment where students feel encouraged to keep showing up, participating and getting involved.

Into Week 2

Week one might be over, but the program is only getting started.

Next up is Workshop 2, an online mentoring session and the upcoming Build in Public session.

And if the first week is anything to go by, students are already excited for what’s coming.

They’ve got ideas.

They’ve found their people.

They’ve started testing their thinking.

Now it’s time to keep building.

From problem briefs to something real

One of the most exciting parts of Founder Pathways is seeing what happens when students are given the space to explore problems that matter to them.

At the beginning, an idea might just be a thought in someone’s head.

Then comes the problem brief.

Then the team.

Then the testing.

Then the feedback.

And eventually, something starts to take shape.

That journey is already underway for the Deakin Founder Pathways T2 cohort.

Week one was about getting started.

Now, let’s see what they build.