The $50,000 Massey Innovation Prize was awarded to Associate Professor Rodney Adank and his team to commercialise devices for improving medicine and vaccine cold storage.

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With $50,000 pre-seed investment on offer, the Massey Innovation Prize was back for 2021 and better than ever! Open to Massey University staff and students with innovative ideas, the Massey Innovation prize attracted entries from across the University, spanning human and veterinary medicine, engineering, design, nutrition, technology, and mental health.

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Of the sixteen entries, eight proceeded to pitch their ideas at the virtual Massey Innovation Prize Finals, held October 1st. This year, the judging panel included a rich combination of commercialisation experience, including:

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• Ipshita Mandal-Johnson - Founding Partner & CEO at Global Bio Fund

• Kendall Flutey - Co Founder & CEO at Banqer

• Tomas Ribeiro – IP Manager and Patent Attorney at Otago Innovation Limited

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All three external judges were impressed by the quality of the innovations emerging from Massey and noted that any of the finalists were worthy recipients. After thorough deliberation, the judges awarded the prize to Associate Professor Rodney Adank and his team to commercialise devices for improving medicine and vaccine cold storage.

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While there could only be one winner, the participants all benefited from the presentation workshops, run by the Research and Enterprise team. In addition, all the finalists received detailed recommendations from the judges.

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“The prize really enables our health design agenda and supports this critical first project with CCDHB” says Associate Professor Rodney Adank. “The structure of the prize application really made us think hard about the strategic impacts the project could have, and how important expertise within the team were going to be to our success.”

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With the ongoing success, Massey Ventures has committed to continuing the Massey Innovation Prize with official dates yet to be announced for 2022. For more information and to find out how Massey Ventures can support your innovative research, visit www.masseyventures.co.nz or email at: contact@masseyventures.co.nz