Summer Startup Programme

• A diversity of ideas  
• Innovative concepts 
• Desirability, Viability, and Feasibility of ideas, alongside their potential to generate value in the world.  
• How much impact the Summer Startup Programme will have on you and your future! 

• 18-20 ventures selected 

• Any UC student with an idea, enrolled at least until the 18th of October 2024 can apply! 

• Individuals or teams are welcome to apply to participate.

• Selected participants are expected to be able to commit full-time to the development of their venture during the duration of the Summer Startup Programme. With the exception of the Christmas/New Year break, each weekday will feature an action-packed series of workshops, inspiring and industry expert speakers, and mentoring. 

• Any scholarships awarded are for ventures (not individuals), and teams will need to split scholarships between members at their own discretion. At-least one member from each team will be expected to participate full-time.

• The Summer Startup Programme runs 9am – 3pm each weekday (with the exception of public holidays) between Monday 11th November – Friday 13th December 2024 and Monday 6th January – Wednesday 5th February 2025. Participants are expected to attend all speaker sessions and workshops where possible and to commit to working on the development of their venture outside of these times.

During the application process you will be asked questions relating to:

• Your personal details including student id, area of study, and contact information. 
• Idea/Venture Name 
• Idea Summary e.g. overview of problem, solution, and unique value proposition and how it would be delivered/channels (500 words) 
• Who your idea serves? e.g. who will it benefit and create value for? (500 words) 
• Current status of your idea? e.g. what progress have you made to date? Is your idea in ideation stage, product development/commercialisation stage? 
• Any IP considerations/ownership related to your venture? (it is fine if you don’t know yet) 
• What would you personally like to gain from participating in the Summer Startup Programme? (500 words) 
• Your career aspirations? (500 words) 

*Note: If you have a team (ie. more than one person), you each need to apply separately but can reuse the answers to idea/venture specific questions. 

In conjunction with the programme, UCE has a limited number of Summer Startup Scholarships to offer students and to assist them with working on their ventures over the summer period. 

Exact scholarship amounts are to be confirmed but are generally $5,000 - $6,000 for individual ventures and $8,000 - $9,000 for team-based ventures (2 or more participants).

Scholarship recipients must agree to 2024/25 Summer Startup Scholarship criteria and be present for at least 90% of the programme.

All applications for the Summer Startup Programme are automatically considered for the Scholarship. 

In 2023/2024, we supported a diverse range of 15 student ventures participating in the Summer Startup Programme. You can follow their journey on UCE social media channels and watch our Showcase video.

Summer Startup Showcase Awards Article 2024

Read about the life-changing experience of Summer Startup and the impact it made for our 2024 cohort here.

Showcase Award Winners 2024:

Most Developed: Daeem Shariff – Amara 

Innovation Award: Jenny Zhu – Linebuddy

Impact Award: Emma Arvidson & Renee Tauwhare – Teiny

Best Presentation Award: George & Louis Newton – Snippet Jobs

People’s Choice Award: Emma Arvidson & Renee Tauwhare – Teiny 

2024 Cohort Awards:

Customer Validation Award: Jackson Munday – Divi

Cohort Contribution Award: Daeem Shariff - Amara 

Summer Start Up Cohort 2023/24

AdverLink

Yuanhang ‘Fred’ Li (Bachelor of Commerce - Marketing & Management)

Seong-Young Her (Bachelor of Product Design - Applied Immersive Game Design)

AdverLink simplifies digital advertising and tracking for SMEs by consolidating Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok into one easy-to-use platform. Our AI-powered system automates ad creation and optimizes for conversions, making digital marketing hasslefree and more effective.

Altie

Emma Arvidson (Bachelor of Product Design - Chemical Formulation)

Renee Tauwhare (UC Commerce Student)

We have developed an oat milk powder to address waste issues in import/export and product end-of-life, and also aim to establish a factory where we can re-purpose our oat waste for packaging.

We are targeting wholesale distribution to various sectors, including airlines, foodstuffs, hotels, cafes, offices and retail travel/ camping stores, as well as having an e-commerce website where people can buy bulk, or through subscription. All of our products will be made using NZ ingredients, supporting the NZ economy, and have a better nutritional profile than traditional milk (more protein, calcium and other essential vitamins, less fat!). Altie is commercialising an oat milk powder that is designed to reduce the waste that is created through export & import, and non-recyclable packaging.

We will be mainly B2B (foodstuffs, airlines, hotels, macpac/hiking stores) as well as available through subscription on our website. We have access to a patented plant based protein and will be including all essential vitamins and minerals that traditional milk offers, so no one on a dairy free diet has to sacrifice.

amAra Skin

Daeem Shariff (Bachelor of Product Design - Chemical Formulation)

amAra skin is a transparent skincare brand celebrating the traditions of south asia. We create products the utilise traditional ingredients, our first product the aitihya serum targets the signs of fine lines and wrinkles. amAra skin, not only celebrates and uses traditional south asian ingredients but we celebrate my grandmothers blend of herbal skincare she used in her skincare life.

DewTron

Nicholas Dewhurst (Bachelor of Engineering with Honours - Mechatronics)

Through my electronics company DewTron, I want to create a smart home product line focused on lowering power usage for renters. The initial module idea for this system is a device that attaches on top of a light switch (without screws) and physically flips it. This is fully automatable and customisable and can be installed by tenants without consulting the landlord for renovations.

Divi

Jackson Munday (Bachelor of Engineering with Honours - Mechatronics)

A mobile application for people in shared living situations to organise and incentivise jobs/chores than need doing in the household. Jobs and chores are assigned rewards in real money and that money can be earned by the housemates that do the work. This app aims to reduce friction between housemates by providing the fairest way to distribute house work.

Ghost Guards

Kent Davidson (Bachelor of Product Design - Industrial)

Ghost guards is a fully reimagined wrist guard for snowboarder. They are lightweight, custom and fit under the glove easily and are designed to go unnoticed by the user.

When heated the guards become malleable and can bend to fit the user then harden the cool to become ridged. This lets each guard be custom to each person ensuring a comfortable fit.

Koea

Erika Wright (Bachelor of Product Design - Chemical Formulation)

Koea, an embodiment of the Māori term “to be brilliant and beautiful”, is a passionate endeavor to empower Māori wahine and restore the essence of Māori culture through skincare-powered makeup products. Koea is poised to revolutionize the beauty landscape by fusing ancient Māori wisdom with modern formulation strategies.

LineBuddy

Jenny Zhu (Bachelor of Engineering with Honours - Mechatronics)

LineBuddy revolutionises badminton officiating with our automatic umpiring software. Using advanced computer vision and deep learning, we empower umpires, enhancing their precision and confidence. A convenient and affordable way of elevating the badminton experience for players of all levels, both amateurs and competitive players alike.

Nature & Romance Series

Yining ‘Leo’ Liu (Bachelor of Music - Honours)

For mid/high earned group who enjoys and interested in immersing sensual experience of live music, nature, and catering. It is a fashionable and bespoke form of music events that separate from traditional concert setting, providing a social platform for people to connect with the nature and each other.

Pico Propulsion

William Falconer Beach (Bachelor of Engineering with Honours - Mechanical)

Pico Propulsion aims to provide low cost propulsion systems for CubeSats. This allows CubeSat operators to implement collision avoidance and orbital boost maneuvers, lengthening the life and safety of the satellite.

ResilientU

Hunter Hine (Bachelor of Commerce - Strategy and Entrepreneurship)

ResilientU is a dynamic educational platform designed to empower students with the fundamental tools for cultivating habits that pave the way for success in the real world.

Geared forwards students eager to break free from old patters and establish healthier routines, ResilientU offers a subscription-based model, with both individual students and educational institutions having the opportunity to invest in a wealth of knowledge and resources.

SnippetJobs

George Newton & Louis Newton

(Bachelor of Commerce - Strategy and Entreprenueship & Marketing)

SnippetJobs provide the most efficient platform to find and manage temporary labour in the logistics sector.

Stride Boot

Catriona Savage (Bachelor of Product Design - Industrial)

Stride Boot is a user-centric and empathetically designed recovery boot for users recovering ankle and foot injuries or surgeries. It combines innovative internal and external systems into a lego-like modular design. It is a comfortable, lightweight and fully adjustable recovery boot which is made using sustainable materials. The Stride Boots’s purpose is to replace current recovery boots which are uncomfortable, heavy and lacking in adjustability made with cheap and single-use materials. Stride Boot aims to support users who are seeking to recover in the most advantageous way, so they can stride into the future with confidence.

Untitled Mod Game

Oliver Garrett (Bachelor of Science - Computer Science)

Untitled Mod Game is a 2d game platform. As a gamer, you can play a vast set of games/game modes. As a creator, you can create game-rules in a highly elegant and systemic fashion.

Valoway

Daniel Rickerby (Bachelor of Engineering with Honours - Mechatronics)

Introducing the next generation of personal transportation to New Zealand. Developing highly efficient and fun human-powered vehicles for urban and recreational usage with a passionate community.

To be announced on Friday 11th October, 2024

If you want to find out more about the Summer Startup Programme, contact uce@canterbury.ac.nz 

or feel free to pop up and see us at UCE, Level 6, Rehua Building, University of Canterbury.