Creative Destruction Lab: Deep tech in practice — For students

An experiential Monash Business School unit where you work as a consultant to a real deep tech venture inside the Creative Destruction Lab. Open to late-stage undergraduate and postgraduate students by competitive application.

Key information

Facts and figures

  • Engage real ventures

    Work on live projects in AI, clean tech and life sciences.

  • Access global experts

    Learn from CDL's network of industry experts.

  • Build stronger skills

    Enhance your analytical thinking and decision-making abilities.

  • Turn insight into impact

    Navigate real, high-stakes innovation challenges.

What is deep tech?

Deep tech ventures are built on real scientific and engineering breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, advanced materials, robotics and quantum technologies. This unit places you inside the challenge of turning that science into a scalable business.

Delivered through Monash's partnership with the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), you'll work hands-on within the CDL ecosystem, a global program connecting founders with leading mentors and investors, with its Asia-Pacific home in Melbourne.

Student consulting projects

It's an experiential unit, you learn by doing. Working in a small team, you'll act as a consultant to an active CDL venture, applying frameworks from the seminars to a live business problem and presenting your work to the founders. Each team is matched to a venture and a brief tied to the founder's current priorities. Recent teams have worked across four types of project:

Facts and figures

  • Market evaluation

    Determining the market segments, targeting, sizing and entry points for a venture's commercialisation efforts.

  • Financial model

    Conducting a techno-economic analysis or building a pricing model for the venture's product.

  • Investment pitch

    Creating, or materially updating, a pitch deck for investment funding or a major commercial arrangement.

  • Business development strategy

    Developing a go-to-market strategy for an identified — or alternative — market segment.

How the unit is structured

Weekly seminars run across Semester 1, from the fundamentals of deep tech entrepreneurship through to funding and intellectual property alongside industry guest speakers and the chance to observe CDL Session 3. You'll produce two deliverables: a presentation to the founders mid-semester, then a final written report, deepened after observing CDL Session 3, where all the ventures and mentors meet. Full week-by-week detail is in the ‘Unit structure’ section below.

Who can apply

Open to late-stage undergraduate and postgraduate Monash Business School students, by competitive application. Full eligibility criteria are in the ‘Who can apply’ section below.

How to apply

Applications for Semester 1, 2027 now open.

Apply now

Applications close: 20 September 2026

Application outcome: 9 October 2026

How CDL-Melbourne bridges the gap between theory and practice

Master of Business student, Vishwak Pugalendiran, shares his experience inside the Creative Destruction Lab: Deep tech in practice unit at Monash University.

Watch

How CDL-Melbourne gives students real world consulting experience

Bachelor of Commerce student, Christania Wiesanjaya highlights how the CDL unit goes beyond traditional coursework by offering practical work and building core professional skills.

Watch

How CDL-Melbourne helps accelerate energy innovation

Dr Shalini Divya (CEO and Founder, Tasmanlon) explains how her startup is pioneering safe, cost-effective aluminium-iron batteries.

Watch

Frequently asked questions

Quick links

Contact us

If you have questions about the CDL-Melbourne units, please contact:

Dr Norman Azabagic
Academic Lead
Creative Destruction Lab — Melbourne