Dr Charlie Day 
Charlie is currently Project Director for the Carlton Connect Initiative at the University of Melbourne. The Carlton Connect Initiative is an ambitious project to create Australia’s premier STEM innovation precinct anchored by the University of Melbourne. The project is bringing together researchers from across the full breadth of the University’s academic disciplines, and enabling them to work side by side with colleagues from leading organisations in the public and private sectors to deliver greater levels of innovation and impact.
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 Childrens’ 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 startup consulting company focused on manufacturing process improvement.
Charlie has a degree in Classics and an 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 Directors’ Course run by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Charlie lives in Melbourne with his wife Elise and two young boys.