The Business Navigators programme offers students the opportunity to participate in valuable extracurricular and community-building activities, as well as providing courses customised to their study interests. The programme enables students to develop important communication skills, hone their ability to work in a team, solve problems, broaden their skill sets, and increase their resourcefulness – all of which will help enhance their future career success.

Students will also build connections within their Business Navigators cohort and wider community that will last far beyond their time studying at the University of Auckland.

If you are someone who wants to elevate your Business School experience, then you’re a potential Business Navigator!

Find out more below, and then apply for the programme!

Students need to have applied for a Bachelor of Commerce or a Bachelor of Commerce conjoint to be considered for admission to the Business Navigators programme.

• Three core courses in the Bachelor of Commerce are customised to fit each stream (BUSINESS 113, which substitutes BUSINESS 112; BUSINESS 202; and Year 3 Capstone Course).
• There are no additional courses - the programme sits within a 360-point (24-course) Bachelor of Commerce.
• To complete the programme, students need to pass the three courses and participate in a minimum of 60 hours of extracurricular activities that are specified as being part of the stream.

Exclusive: learn from New Zealand's youngest billion-dollar founder!

Dr Jamie Beaton and Fangzhou (FZ) Jiang, co-founders of billion-dollar ‘unicorn’ company Crimson Education, will be teaching the bespoke project in BUSINESS 113. They will take students through case studies of Crimson Education and other NZ growth companies like RocketLab, Xero and Zuru.

Dr Jamie Beaton launched Crimson Education at 17. He is the youngest founder in New Zealand history to build a billion-dollar ‘unicorn’ company by the age of 27, growing Crimson into a company of more than 850 full-time employees across 23 countries with more than $200 million in revenue. He has also raised $170 million in venture capital from leading investors like Tiger Global, Icehouse Ventures, Movac and Hillhouse. Jamie has completed 10 degrees at universities including Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Tsinghua, Oxford, University of Pennsylvania and King’s College London. Jamie is also the USA Today National best-selling author of ACCEPTED!

Jamie says: "I aim to bottle my learnings from the world’s best universities and our baptism-by-fire journey of building Crimson from an Auckland living room to a world leader in education into the BUSINESS 113 bespoke project. We will combine the Harvard Business School case method with practical insights on every stage of the founder journey from ideation to capital-raising to global go-to market with a deeply practical, applied New Zealand focus.” 

Fangzhou (FZ) Jiang is a co-founder, board member, and the Chief Product Officer of Crimson Education. FZ graduated from Rangitoto College as Dux and received the NZQA Premier Scholarship. He received his BS/BCom from the Australian National University on a full merit scholarship before completing an MS in Engineering from Stanford and an MA in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar. He earned the John F. Kennedy Fellowship to pursue joint MPA/MBA degrees at the Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford Graduate School of Business. FZ was named NZ Student Entrepreneur of the Year and is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree.

FZ says: "Drawing from my experience building Crimson’s technology products and leading our expansion across Asia Pacific, I will share insights on scaling tech innovation, navigating global markets, and fostering global leadership. My goal is for New Zealand’s next unicorn founders to emerge from this class.”

• The extracurricular activities will enhance students’ skills, expand their social networks and help increase their employability (or better prepare them for postgraduate study).
• There is a strong sense of community in the programme, with special events and interactions.
• Students who complete the programme will have it noted on their academic transcript* and will receive a Business Navigators certificate and a digital badge.
• The programme is recognised by employers: the Business Navigators programme is being promoted as an enhanced Bachelor of Commerce experience for motivated and capable students.

*Currently being approved for the programme

In each stream students enrol in three customised courses and participate in a range of prescribed extracurricular activities. There are also special events and interactions to help build a strong sense of community, both within the stream and across the streams. Find more information on the structure of each stream:

Applications for the Semester 1 2025 intake are closed. Applications are open for the Semester 2 2025 intake and will close on Monday 30 June, 2025. 

• Ensure that you have applied for admission to a Bachelor of Commerce or a Bachelor of Commerce conjoint. You can apply at any time after you have applied for admission to a Bachelor of Commerce or a Bachelor of Commerce conjoint.
• Complete the Business Navigators programme application form.
• You can apply for up to two streams, but will only be accepted into one stream.
• The application form asks you a number of questions and asks for a reference. The reference can be completed by a teacher, community leader, or any other person who can comment on your character traits, strengths and weaknesses.
• If you are an international student and find it difficult to provide a reference, you do not need to provide a reference, but you need to explain why, and you need to ensure that you have given full answers to the questions in the application form.
• Only ONE completed reference form is required, even if you apply for more than one stream (you do not need to provide a separate reference form for each stream).
• After your Business Navigators application is assessed, you will be informed if you have secured a place in the Semester 2 2025 intake of the Business Navigators programme. This will be after the Semester 2 2025 intake closing date (Monday 30 June, 2025). Note that this does not affect your enrolment in courses in Semester One, as BUSINESS 113 is taught in Semester Two. If you are accepted into the programme, your enrolment in BUSINESS 112 will be transferred to BUSINESS 113.
• Note: 
  • To be selected for the programme you need to be enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce or a Bachelor of Commerce conjoint.
  • Selection for the programme is based on an assessment of your academic capability, character traits, and your strengths and aspirations relevant to the stream you are applying for.

If you have questions about the Business Navigators programme, please send an email to businessnavigators@auckland.ac.nz.