An innovative idea that aims to reduce falls in elderly and people with low mobility has seen two Murdoch students take the top honour at the 2017 Young Entrepreneurs Pitch Night, held at the Australian High Commissioner’s Residence in Singapore.
Team Kiwa Tech Wear, comprising Murdoch students Adam Kinnest (Bachelor of Nursing) and Tristan Ward (Bachelor of Science in Physics and Nanotechnology) triumphed over two teams from Murdoch’s Singapore campus. They will use the $8,000 in cash and prizes to develop their business idea and visit the Commonwealth Bank’s Innovation and Design Lab in Sydney.
“Our product aims to reduce falls in elderly people and others with low mobility by building a high tech device that will incorporate innovative wearable technologies currently in development,” team Kiwa Tech Wear said.
“We know that giving back a sense of freedom and independence to elderly and people with low mobility will help to support their sense of wellbeing, their family’s and the wider community.”
The McGowan Government congratulated the students on their innovative idea.
“I congratulate the winners, Adam Kinnest and Tristan Ward, and the other participants for entering the 2017 Young Entrepreneurs Pitch night,” Acting Asian Engagement Minister Rita Saffioti said.
“The program encourages students to build on their entrepreneurial skills and interact with other likeminded international peers."
During the Young Entrepreneurs Pitch Night, students presented their ideas to representatives from business, health and government. The event was a fitting finale to an intensive learning and development program, which saw Murdoch students tasked with identifying a problem in their community and developing a creative real world solution.
Through the initiative, teams from Murdoch’s Perth and Singapore campuses actively participated in nine intensive YoungGemsTM Entrepreneurship masterclasses – developed and led by partner Gemstar – which were invaluable to the students understanding how to take a real world problem, find a solution and bring it to market.
Masterclasses focussed on the building blocks of being an entrepreneur, including the secret sauce of entrepreneurship, design thinking, strategic marketing, storytelling and creating an appealing brand. Teams also learned how to develop realistic business models including financial forecasts.
“Gemstar gave us the insight into how to build our personal and business brands through passion and purpose, and gave us the tools to take our ideas and apply them on a global scale,” the winning students said.
Richard Wiles and Evan Schmedje from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) prepared the finalists for their pitch with a Design Thinking workshop. Mentors Peter Welsh, Nick Strain and Bill Castillas challenged the teams and helped them critically refine their ideas.
Singapore Dean Peter Waring said the 2017 Young Entrepreneurs Pitch night – run in partnership with Murdoch University SCRIPT, Kaplan Singapore, CBA and Gemstar Technology – raised the bar and played a critical role in developing free-thinking and enterprising graduates.
“At Murdoch University, we believe it is important to accord students the best chance to succeed in their lives upon graduation,” Associate Professor Waring said.
“The Young Entrepreneurs program, in conjunction with Gemstar’s YoungGemsTM masterclasses, stimulates entrepreneurial skills among our students to ensure that upon completion of the program, our graduates are highly employable and have the skills to future proof their careers.”
Team Kiwa Tech Wear comes away with a cash prize of $3,000 to be utilised as basic start-up capital and residency at Gemstar Innovation Centre of Excellence in Singapore, and two days at the Commonwealth Bank Australia Innovation Lab in Sydney plus $5,000 cash prize for accommodation and travel to Sydney. The two teams that were the runners up each receive $1000 to support the development of their business ideas.
Participation in the YoungGemsTM masterclasses earned each student a Certificate of Business Model Innovation, Certificate of Marketing and Branding and Certificate of Entrepreneurship Planning.