About
Purpose
Established in 2015 thanks to a $10 million gift by successful entrepreneur Peter Wade, we have created the ultimate training ground for high-calibre talent to build ideas, master the fundamentals and grow a lifelong network.
From founders and investors, to schools and teachers, our programs touch all stages of the entrepreneurial journey. Participants go further, faster through a focused learning environment and highly practical programs. Continuous feedback loops are built-in, ensuring students have the space to fail safely, test, and iterate, bringing ideas and impact to life.
Process
Learn
Develop an entrepreneurial mindset and capabilities, transferable to any industry.
Connect
Create a powerful lifelong network of collaborators, experts and investors.
Create
Hands-on, immersive learning journeys, empowering impactful change.
Impact
55%
Female alumni1,000+
Program participants$117+M
Investment capital deployed30
Average cohort sizeOur campus
Wade Institute is situated within the grounds of Ormond College, a residential College at the University of Melbourne.
Designed with the creativity of our students in mind, our campus offers spaces to think, make, innovate and accelerate learning.
Peter Wade
Behind Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship is the very successful, but low-profile, entrepreneur and Ormond alumnus, Peter Wade.
Originally from Geelong, Peter knows first-hand the changes that are sweeping through the Australian economy. He has watched the decline of manufacturing and heavy industry in and around his hometown and how Geelong has reinvented itself several times to meet the challenges it has faced.
There’s a big role for entrepreneurship and innovation to help create Australia’s future, and there will be so many opportunities available to bright young entrepreneurs in the coming years.
Peter Wade
Wade Institute Team
Jessica Christiansen-Franks
Director
A qualified urban designer and landscape architect, Jess has spent more than 20 years working across government, industry and civil society leading complex urban development projects in Australia and globally (including UK, Canada, India, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines). She’s also no stranger to entrepreneurial education having designed peer-based programs, run masterclasses, and supported founders, intrapreneurs and changemakers across sectors.
Rachel Jenzen
Associate Director, Programs and Operations
Rachel is passionate about the transformational impact of education and more specifically helping to develop, and deliver the next wave of entrepreneurship and innovation training programs and activities.
As Associate Director, Programs and Operations, she oversees the delivery of all Wade Programs and manages the operations our of our Centre.
Rachel has more than 20 years experience working in the education sector and prior to joining Wade Institute spent a decade supporting the development and delivery of programs in graduate business and executive education at the Melbourne Business School.
Rachel holds a BA (Hons) and Master of Arts (Research) in History from the University of Melbourne.
Andrew ‘Midsy’ Middleton
Program Director (Business Development and Recruitment)
Midsy has worked in education for twenty years, including Head of English at an international school in Thailand to alumni relations and business development in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at The University of Melbourne. He has a Master of International Business and a Bachelor of Arts. Midsy is passionate about bringing people together around topics of common interest and growing community engagement.
Midsy looks forward to meeting the next participants of the VC Catalyst and UpSchool Programs and following their respective investor and educator journeys.
Little known fact: he has been called Mids or Midsy since primary school when there were four Andrews in his Prep class.
May Flaming
Program Manager
May is passionate about supporting others to achieve their entrepreneurial aspirations and as a natural connector she’s keen to bring together like-minded people.
She plays a pivotal role for the Master of Entrepreneurship, managing the end-to-end experience spanning across recruitment, student experience, alumni and the interactions with the broader community.
Her interest in entrepreneurship started at a young age having had exposure to family businesses, and after graduating from university she took the leap herself in running her own business. Since then she’s continued to apply this entrepreneurial mindset in various roles working in the education sector across marketing, student recruitment and management.
Ysh Pascual
Events and Programs Coordinator
Focused on precise planning and delivery, Ysh brings valuable experience from event management roles at LaunchVic and the Florey Institute (University of Melbourne). Beyond this expertise, Ysh is a skilled songwriter, artist and singer – whose professional achievements as a musician have included a stint on The Voice! Outside his work with the Wade Institute, Ysh explores his interest in music tech and is currently immersed in building a comprehensive catalogue of songs for publishing.
Ysh works three days a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) to support Wade across our program portfolio, with a special focus on our custom and UpSchool programs.
Aaron Fraser
Graduate Intern
A graduate of the Master of Entrepreneurship at The University of Melbourne, Aaron currently works at Wade Institute supporting with the implementation of programs like VC Catalyst, VC Fundamentals and Ag Ventures.
He is also an academic tutor in the Department of Management Marketing and the School of Communication and Culture at The University of Melbourne where he hopes to inspire the next generation of young marketers and entrepreneurs.
Dr Hedieh Hatami
Communications and Marketing Manager
Hedieh is a marketing communication professional with over 12 years of experience in the tertiary education sector. Her expertise include integrated marketing communications, advancement, and marketing research. Audience-driven with an analytical and strategic mindset, she has a proven track record of developing end-to-end digital campaigns. With a PhD degree in Marketing Strategy from the University of Melbourne, she is also an experienced educator who enjoys using innovative tactics to co-create engaging learning experiences.
Ormond College Contributors
Kim Howells
Executive Director, Engagement & Innovation
Kim is the portfolio lead for the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship and a member of the Ormond College Executive. An award-winning higher education leader, she brings 20 years of experience across marketing, recruitment, strategy, and community engagement.
She is committed to empowering individuals and teams to achieve bold goals and to building communities that create lasting impact. Passionate about innovation and the transformative power of residential colleges, Kim is also a strong advocate for expanding access and diversity in higher education.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts and an MBA, and is a lifelong learner.
Dr Areti (Ari) Metuamate
Master and Head of Ormond College
The Master and Head of Ormond College is the chief executive officer, reporting to the College Council. Ari has worked in universities, colleges and in public service roles for almost 20 years. He is an experienced Board director in both Australia and New Zealand and his academic background is in political science, Indigenous governance and leadership, and strategic issues in Asia and the Pacific. His PhD and Master’s degrees are from the Australian National University in Canberra and his undergraduate degrees are from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Ari is a member of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
Joe Dimasi
Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Joe is a CPA-qualified finance leader with more than 15 years’ experience guiding high-performing teams across the full finance function. He’s skilled in reporting, forecasting, audit, and project accounting, and is known for making financial insights clear and actionable. At Wade, Joe helps keep us financially on track.
Collaborators
