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Student-led innovations in health care and recreational fishing took the top prizes at the Mel Woodward Cup last night.

, founded by engineering students Rohith McKim and Liam French, won $25,000 for a smartphone application that uses 3D scanning to help occupational therapists and families evaluate equipment, furniture and other environmental supports seniors may need to stay in their own homes as they age.

The Mel Woodward Cup, a startup pitch competition for Memorial University students, was held on March 18 at the Emera Innovation Exchange, Signal Hill Campus. It’s hosted by the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship (MCE).

The competition was created through a 2017 donation to the Faculty of Business Administration from the family of the late Dr. Mel Woodward, founder of the Woodward Group of Companies.

OmaScan is currently beta testing its product with Mr. McKim working full-time on the business during an entrepreneurial work-term at the MCE.

The team of engineers includes Liam Earle, Zaid Duraid, Evan Vokey and Jordyn O’Brien, all of whom are alumni of Memorial’s Student Design Hub. The company is also a member of Genesis.

The prize money will help the team expand beta testing, do more research and development, and engage more occupational therapists in the pilot project.

“We’re feeling super grateful and proud of the team for all the hard work we’ve put in,” said Mr. McKim. “There’s a lot more work to do, and this is just the beginning for us.”

Runner-up: Seam Fishing

The $15,000 runner-up was .

Co-founder Isaac Batten, a lifelong recreational fisher, was looking for a new landing net that was durable, compact and didn’t harm the fish he catches.

He couldn’t find one on the market, so he created one.

Along with co-founder Rowan Meany (B.Eng.’21), the ocean and naval architectural engineering student has spent the past 10 months designing a landing net with a lightweight aluminum structure, stainless steel bolts that resist corrosion and rubber netting to avoid damaging the fish. 

With two models of the net available, Seam Fishing has already sold more than 200 across Canada, the United States, Japan and Argentina. The nets are also in seven Canadian retailers.

They plan to debut the nets at industry trade shows in Toronto and Moncton within the next month and have plans to expand manufacturing, as well as new accessories and products.

“The past 10 months have involved significant learning and growth,” said Mr. Batten. “It feels very rewarding to be recognized for that growth, but, more importantly, for the confidence the judges had in us to use the prize money to continue our success.”

The top two teams also receive a variety of in-kind prizes from Altitude Media, Gardiner Centre, Genesis, Gowling Law, HeyOrca, KPMG, Perfect Day and techNL.

Five student-led teams pitched their ventures during the competition. The other finalists are below.

• DCXIX Consulting and Technical Services Inc., which is launching Scenecast, a performance capture tool that allows real people to be present and interact in virtual 3D environments;  
• EsseReale, which is creating a new class of compact, hands-free personal mobility device that eliminates the stigma, inconvenience and terrain limitations of traditional mobility aids; and
• RespAI, which delivers real-time, personalized exposure intelligence for firefighters through a wearable multi-sensor device and machine-learning platform that makes long-term carcinogen risk visible and actionable. 

Fry Family Foundation awards

Two awards valued at $2,500 each were also presented.

TerraEos won the Fry Family Foundation Entrepreneurship Award for an Early-stage Idea.

TerraEos, founded by engineering student Liam Yandon, aims to develop a biodegradable solvent for cement processing that improves the efficiency and affordability of carbon capture.

The Fry Family Foundation Entrepreneurship Award for Women and Non-binary Leadership went to Chelsea O’Hara, co-founder of DCXIX.

Decade of Impact awards

In recognition of its 10th anniversary, the MCE also created the Decade of Impact Awards to honour past Mel Woodward Cup participants who have created meaningful economic, social and industry impact around the world.

CoLab Software, co-founded by Adam Keating (B.Eng.’17) and Jeremy Andrews (B.Eng.’17), took home two awards: the Founders in Motion award, recognizing ventures that have moved decisively from idea to influence; and the Journey Award, recognizing resilience, growth, learning and community engagement.

CoLab won $10,000 at the first Mel Woodward Cup in 2017.

Nikitha Kendyala (PhD’18), co-founder of Nucliq Biologics, won the Trailblazer Award, recognizing a woman or gender-diverse founder shaping ventures, markets and future founders.

Nucliq Biologics won the $25,000 top prize in 2020. The company’s co-founder is Purvikalyan Pallegar (PhD’20).

According to Jason Trask, director of the MCE, companies that have emerged from the centre have generated about $178 million in economic impact in the province and $335 million across Canada.

“The impact goes far beyond the numbers,” he said. “The MCE helps build a can-do culture in this province, and many of our graduates now mentor, invest in and support the next generation of entrepreneurs, multiplying our impact.”

The MCE receives support from the Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through the Department of Jobs, Growth and Rural Development; and private donors. 

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For more information, please contact Susan White, communications advisor, Faculty of Business Administration, at 709-689-7988 or susanwhite@mun.ca.