Dr Charlie Day is Project Director for The Carlton Connect Initiative at the University of Melbourne. The Carlton Connect Initiative is creating Australia’s premier innovation precinct anchored by the University of Melbourne. As an open platform, the initiative is uniting talented people who extend and deepen the application of knowledge throughout the Australian economy and Australian society.

Prior to his current role Charlie was the leader of Melbourne Ventures, the technology commercialisation company of the University of Melbourne, from its foundation in 2004 until 2010.

Charlie currently serves on the board of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and is a member of their Translation and Commercialisation Committee. He also has a longstanding interest in the creation of new technology-based ventures, having previously been a member of the Investment Committee of the Venture Capital fund Uniseed, and more recently a co-founder of the Melbourne Accelerator Program. Prior to coming to the University of Melbourne, Charlie was a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, and before that a consultant with Hagen & Co, an innovative start-up consulting company focused on manufacturing process improvement.

Charlie has a degree in Classics and honours degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Melbourne, along with a doctorate in jet engine design from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He has also trained in Corporate Finance at INSEAD, and is a graduate of the Company Director’s Course run by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.