Student Innovation Awards

Accelerate your idea, career or research
The Student Innovation Awards recognise University of Sydney students' innovative solutions for real-world impact.

The Student Innovation Awards focus on celebrating student-founded startups creating positive impact through commercialising research, driving innovation and delivering positive social outcomes to the community. 


2023 Award Categories

INCUBATE Award for Best Student Startup: $5,000 prize

For undergraduate and post-graduate student startup groups of up to four founders.

Best Social Impact Startup: $5,000 prize

Delivering transformative positive social impact to the community for undergraduate and post-graduate student startup groups of up to four founders.

Most Innovative Student Project that Solves a Real-world Problem: $5,000 prize

For undergraduate and post-graduate student startup groups of two-six founders created as part of a for-credit unit of study undertaken in the last 18 months.

Sydney Knowledge Hub Research Commercialisation Award: $5,000

For current HDR (MPhil or PhD), honours or post-graduate capstone research project student groups of up to four founders.

This award is sponsored by the Sydney Knowledge Hub and includes a three month membership to the University's coworking space for innovative businesses seeking to collaborate with the University.

People’s Choice Prize: $1,000 1st prize and $500 2nd prize

All shortlisted teams will have the chance to win the People’s Choice Prize which is decided by an online public vote. 

In addition to the $5,000 prize all our 2023 winners will receive a 1:1 mentoring session with an industry expert to help develop their idea and grow their business.

Award eligibility

Students are invited to submit their application online addressing a set of criteria. 

Applications can be in writing or submitted as a video or animated presentation. 

Shortlisted applications will be invited to pitch their idea live via Zoom and participate in a Q & A session with a panel of experts. 

Winners will be announced at an exhibition and awards evening on 2 November 2023.

Open to UG and PG students

A maximum of four founders

A minimum of 25% of founders are enrolled USYD students at the time of submission

Open to UG and PG students

A maximum of four founders

A minimum of 25% of founders are enrolled USYD students at the time of submission

Open to UG and PG students

A team of two to six team members

Team members are enrolled USYD students at the time of submission

The project was undertaken as part of a for-credit unit of study undertaken within the last 18 months.

Should be undertaking HDR (MPhil and PhD), Honours or postgraduate capstone research projects

A maximum of four founders

A minimum of 25% of founders are enrolled USYD students at the time of submission

Meet the 2023 winners and learn about their projects

For undergraduate and post-graduate student startup groups of up to four founders.

AgX - Samuel Aubin and Callum Taylor

AgX is building an operating system for agriculture, creating a frictionless experience for ranches to adopt new technology and increase their productivity amidst an increasingly volatile climate. Over the past 9 months, our team built the first three applications (AgStock, AgMesh, AgSat) offering farmers a holistic hardware and software platform. We are currently trialing on some of largest farming operations across Australia and America. AgX is co-founded by Callum Taylor (Harvard 25') and Samuel Aubin (University of Sydney).

Delivering transformative positive social impact to the community for undergraduate and post-graduate student startup groups of up to four founders.

Mii – Ethan Tien and Laura Wegner

Mii is the passport for your health, allowing doctors to access your past and current patient information in our Electronic Health Records (EHR) system and offering you a consolidated view of your medical data. With impeccable interoperability across all healthcare providers and blockchain integration for unparalleled security, we ensure a seamless and secure healthcare experience for all.

For undergraduate and post-graduate student startup groups of two-six founders created as part of a for-credit unit of study undertaken in the last 18 months.

Algae Tech – Valerie Fang, Aminaa Ganbagana, Lily Manning, Isabel Walker and Isabella Meltzer

Our project aims to tackle poor indoor-air quality in Sydney and the negative health outcomes this leads to, with a focus on improving air filtration systems in commercial buildings. We propose the use of algae through a photobioreactor as a natural and sustainable solution to filter and purify air in these spaces due to its remarkable ability to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. This use of algae reflects a wider goal to encourage and add to the movement of implementing regenerative solutions in built environments.

For current HDR (MPhil or PhD), honours or post-graduate capstone research project student groups of up to four founders.

My Sound Wellbeing Pty Ltd – Angé Weinrabe

Strong evidence shows the relational link between poor sleep quality and depressive disorders in youth under (<22), who are at a three-fold higher risk for developing Depression. This calls for more targeted user-friendly interventions that can address and prevent the onset and progressions of these conditions into adulthood. My Sound Wellbeing delivers personalised ‘music-as-sleep-intervention”’ for anyone with access to a wearable device or smartphone; the technology removes the need for pharmacological interventions for sleep (and anxiety) treatment using tailored sound frequencies that reduce chronic stress on the body, in turn influencing sleep, heart and brain health for people.

People's Choice Prize 1 and 2 are decided by an online public vote

People's Choice First Prize 

Mii – Ethan Tien and Laura Wegner

Mii is the passport for your health, allowing doctors to access your past and current patient information in our Electronic Health Records (EHR) system and offering you a consolidated view of your medical data. With impeccable interoperability across all healthcare providers and blockchain integration for unparalleled security, we ensure a seamless and secure healthcare experience for all.

People's Choice Second Prize 

Algae Tech – Valerie Fang, Aminaa Ganbagana, Lily Manning, Isabel Walker and Isabella Meltzer

Our project aims to tackle poor indoor-air quality in Sydney and the negative health outcomes this leads to, with a focus on improving air filtration systems in commercial buildings. We propose the use of algae through a photobioreactor as a natural and sustainable solution to filter and purify air in these spaces due to its remarkable ability to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. This use of algae reflects a wider goal to encourage and add to the movement of implementing regenerative solutions in built environments.

Meet the 2022 winners and learn about their projects

This award recognises innovative student projects with the potential to drive a positive social impact in the wider community. 

This year, two people won this award: Olivia McRae and Barnabas Buffier.

Lines of Best Fit - Olivia McRae 

'Lines of Best Fit' is an improvised theatre show that brings together scientists and improvisors to communicate science in a creative and innovative way. Through combining science talks with improv comedy, these performances aim to engage audiences with science and provide them with an enjoyable experience. Each performance features a talk by a scientist which the improvisors have never seen, followed by a set of improvised scenes inspired by the science. The improv aspect entices people to engage with science in a new and fun way and also helps to solidify the concepts introduced in the talks.

Startly - Barnabas Buffier 

Startly is a peer-to-peer social ecommerce platform that serves to modernise the outdated practices of selling art, by condensing the art selling process into an accessible, easy-to-use and cost effective procedure that bridges the gap between amateur artists and art enthusiasts.

This award recognises innovative student projects with the potential to create positive environmental impact.

For the first time in 2022 an exciting cross-University collaboration, the Award for Planetary Impact is sponsored by new partners Sydney Environment Institute and Sustainability at Sydney.

Amber Linz is the reciepient for this year's Planetary Impact award. 

Zipr: making secondhand fashionable to lessen our impact on the planet - Amber Linz 

Zipr enables creators to monetise their wardrobe through video. We're building a community that unites local fashionistas on a global scale. Our mission is to make secondhand fun, exciting and beautiful so that it becomes the first choice for Gen Z. By making secondhand entertaining and personalised, it will build the necessary hype needed to transform the minds of traditionally non eco-minded people. Zipr connects people based on their style, body type and location so that as they scroll through their feed, they can feel inspired and meet up locally to exchange clothing.

This award recognises interdisciplinary student projects with the potential to lead to innovative real-world applications.

Noah Sant, Jackie Tu, Yichao Lin, Chuyi He, Marie Hu, Lily Xue and Laura Yu are the recipeint's for this year's Interdisciplinary Impact award. 

Ever Evolving: The Future of Online Luxury - Noah Sant, Jackie Tu, Yichao Lin, Chuyi He, Marie Hu, Lily Xue, Laura Yu 

The luxury landscape is ever-evolving as the digital shift is changing consumer purchasing behaviour. In partnership with Cartier, we have identified the challenge of providing exclusive and personalised services through its website. This report adopts practical methodologies and extensive research, providing three feasible recommendations that effectively improve a client's journey on Cartier’s website. Our recommendations include the aesthetic redesign of Cartier’s website page to protect the luxury trait of exclusivity, the hand visualiser function, which enhances the personalisation of the client journey, and the virtual appointment for re-establishing the human touch of Cartier’s valuable assistant-customer interaction in an online environment.

This award recognises research projects with the potential to lead to innovative real-world applications.

The Award for Research Impact is sponsored by the Sydney Knowledge Hub and includes a three month membership to the University's coworking space for innovative businesses seeking to collaborate with the University.

Jordan Martenstyn is this year's recipient for the Research Impact award. He is awarded $5,000 and a three month membership to Sydney Knowledge Hub. 

Establishing Effective Treatments for Muscle Dysmorphia - Jordan Martenstyn

Muscle Dysmorphia is a psychological disorder included in the DSM-5 that is defined by intense preoccupation that one lacks muscularity and/or leanness, causing significant functional impairment in social, occupational, and other activities. Although the first scientific article on Muscle Dysmorphia was published back in 1993, there have not been any clinical trials conducted on the disorder. Next year, as part of my PhD, I’ll be conducting the first ever clinical trial on Muscle Dysmorphia. This clinical trial represents the first step to helping people with Muscle Dysmorphia receive the treatment they deserve.

Franco De Joya, Adam Taras, Adam Parslow, Lydia Fagan, Angela Tran, Annaliese McGuirk, Harrison Armour, Fiona Dieu, Peter Savignano and Matthew McGuire are the recipients of this year's People's Choice prize, recieving $1,000 to go towards their idea. 

EDhance Learning - Franco De Joya, Adam Taras, Adam Parslow, Lydia Fagan, Angela Tran, Annaliese McGuirk, Harrison Armour, Fiona Dieu, Peter Savignano, Matthew McGuire 

EDhance Learning asks the question: “what if we made education design collaborative and accessible?” We at EDhance Learning, aim to build community collaboration platforms that empower educators, industry stakeholders and the broader learning community to take ownership of reimagining curriculum and learning design. We enable people to show, not tell, what they would like to see in education. We aim to leverage the hackathon model to develop hands-on professional development, conferences and other events that produce tangible evidence of collaboration that are shareable. Our innovative digital platform, The Learning Library, then allows educators across Australia to access these learning resources.

Ethan Samuels and Eesha Agrawal are the recipients for this year's second People's Choice prize, recieving $500 to go towards their idea. 

Blue Osmosis - Ethan Samuels and Eesha Agrawal 

Addressing the lack of access to clean drinking water in remote communities. Blue Osmosis has created a coupled system to improve water quality on a global scale. With your support, our innovative filtration and purification system will improve health and water sanitation in impoverished and rural communities across the globe.