Entrepreneurs go head-to-head
In a competition to discover New Zealand’s most promising young entrepreneurs held at AUT, student Tanuj Wadhi has taken the top prize for his breakthrough invention designed to help sports coaches improve training and prevent burnout in athletes.
The PhD student, who also moonlights as a personal trainer at an Auckland gym, pitched his invention at the AUT Innovation Challenge to a panel of judges alongside four other innovators, and was so convincing, that he received the nod from the judges to claim a total prize pool of $18,500.
His invention, the EliteVu strap, tracks performance and monitors the internal (cardiovascular and metabolic stress) and external loads (distance, velocity) in athletes.
The Innovation Challenge attracted over 60 innovators throughout the year, culminating in the finals event at the University on Monday night.
Designed as a stepping-stone to launch innovative students into the commercial world, the challenge was open to all AUT students, including postgraduate students, who want to explore the potential of their start-up ideas. Students entered from faculties around the university, including Business, Economics and Law, Design and Creative Technologies, Health and Environmental Sciences, Cultures and Society, as well as several PhD students.
“AUT’s distinction as New Zealand’s only university of technology serves as a catalyst for entrepreneurship that supports the delivery of creative and innovative ideas and solutions. AUT serves as the meeting point for talent and opportunity where ideas lead to transformative change, aided through competitions like the Innovation Challenge, which drive our student entrepreneurship,” says AUT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Damon Salesa.
2023 Innovation Challenge Finals
In the Innovation Challenge, participants had the chance to win enticing prizes and valuable support from esteemed sponsors. The overall first-place winner received a grand prize of $10,000 in cash, along with a high-performance laptop courtesy of Cyclone, legal services from JW Legal, and intellectual property advice from ET Intellectual Property, resulting in a total value of $18,500.
Additionally, two category winners were awarded $5,000 in cash, a Cyclone laptop, legal services, and intellectual property advice, totalling $13,000. Meanwhile, the two runners-up each received $500 in cash. One sponsor, ET Intellectual Property, offered $2,500 worth of comprehensive advice covering preliminary novelty searches, trademark protection assessments, intellectual property strategies, and actionable advice for sustainable business advantages.
JW Legal provided $2,500 in legal services for each category, including packages like "Let's Get Selling," "Getting Investor Ready," and "Aligning the Co-Founders." Furthermore, Cyclone generously donated three high-performance HP laptops, each valued at $3,500. The diverse array of prizes and sponsorships ensures that participants not only received financial rewards, but also gained access to valuable resources to propel their innovative endeavours forward.
Judges representing a diverse range of business - from media and marketing through to investment management - were Wendy Thompson, founder of creative media company Thompson Spencer & Socialites, James Palmer, associate at Blackbird Investment and Alejandro Davila, founder of Conical Studio.
Entrants competed in two categories:
- Initiator for new business or social enterprise ideas to solve a social, environmental, or commercial problem; and
- Activator for research that has the potential to be commercialised.
The finalists in the Innovation Challenge collaborated closely with esteemed mentors from the industry. Notably, Libin Benny Kanicherril, guided by Matt Knight of SharedSpace, and Michael Morgan, under the same mentorship, emerged as promising contenders. Alison Koch’s team benefited from mentorship provided by Eetienne Tapueluelu of Lelei 'o Tonga, adding a unique perspective. Additionally, Hansini Gunasekara, mentored by Tom Mcleod, and Tanuj Wadhi, guided by Michael Fielding of AUT Ventures, further enriched the competition's talent pool with their diverse expertise and innovative approaches.
The Innovation Challenge team, consisted of Claudia Epskamp, Paul Woodfield, Fiona Hurd, Michael Fielding, Anna Williams, Anna Hancock, and Sam Mickell, all from across AUT and who collaborated on organising the event.
The 2023 Innovation Challenge Finalists
Initiator category
Michael Morgan (Category Winner)
The Whakatō kit activates the concept of māra kai - gardening for food - providing the platform, seeds, tools and information in a user-friendly package for a wide variety of users.
The Whakatō kit is designed to make gardening for food accessible and simple to understand, while actively encouraging the inclusion of whānau, friends, and the wider community to be involved in food production at a local level. The kit consists of 1x 1000x535mm dag wool mat, 3 seed packs, 1x soil divot pack, 1x depth measure and planting instructions.
Libin Benny Kanicherril
Zerao Energy is a ground-breaking project that combines meticulously designed mechanical components, sophisticated electronic circuits, and cutting-edge batteries and magnets, revolutionise the way we generate electricity. It's a game-changer, offering free, sustainable energy without the need for external power sources.
Alison Koch, Damen Oelofse, Genevieve Trimble, Taina Sakalia, Jessica Salima, Sione Otukolo
Augmented reality (AR) drones to assist farmers in locating, monitoring and generally helping the wellbeing of a herd. Features include live video feed accessible by an app,
AR tracking in the video feed, alarms and flashing lights to scare off predators, weather forecasting to alert farmers when to shelter their herd. The AR drones will come with solar panel charging pads to extend the battery life. These features allow farmers to collect important data on their livestock to better monitor their health, safety and wellbeing.
Activator Category
Hansini Gunasekara (Category Winner)
Using expertise in management consulting and research in leadership and inclusion, the goal is to create a research-backed, action-oriented digital leadership training platform and a global leadership hub, with a focus on fostering psychological safety for all employees.
Tanuj Wadhi (Overall winner)
EliteVu offers teams with technologies to track performance and monitor the internal (cardiovascular and metabolic stress, etc) and external loads (distance, velocity, etc) of their athletes. We aim to empower the coaching team by providing key insights into their athletes' health and recovery.