Emerging innovators win CI2016 scholarships

Ci2016

From a pool of outstanding applications from around the nation, nine emerging innovators were selected for their achievements as founders of a start-up commercial or social enterprise.

Nine Australians have won the opportunity to present their innovations to the world’s elite business thinkers and leaders at Creative Innovation Asia Pacific 2016.

From a pool of outstanding applications from around the nation, nine emerging innovators were selected for their achievements as founders of a start-up commercial or social enterprise. Each winner receives a place at this year’s Creative Innovation 2016 – CI2016 – giving them the opportunity to rub shoulders with key industry leaders, share and discuss their ideas and issues, and present their innovation ideas in a 60-second pitch on the main stage to renowned global innovators, futurists, scientists, leaders and event attendees.

Winners of the Innovation Leader Scholarships for CI 2016 are:

  • Mustafa Atee (WA) – Founder of ePAT, developers of revolutionary mobile medical applications using facial recognition to assess pain at the point-of-care for those unable to communicate.
  • Mathew Bowtell (VIC) – a senior engineer at Toyota, who developed a functional prosthetic finger accessible to anybody on the planet, for free.
  • Ankit Chopra (NSW) – Founder of B-Corp certified Eat Me Chutneys, a socially and environmentally responsible chutney company that aims to reduce food wastage.
  • Rez Haremi (NSW) – Founder of Essential Need, a charity that aims to end extreme water poverty by the year 2020.
  • Mandy Lau (VIC) – Founder of Reach & Match, an innovative education kit to empower children with vision impairment/complex needs, also provides an inclusive learning solution in mainstream settings.
  • Troy McCann (VIC) – Program Adviser and Co-Founder of the Melbourne Space Program, a not-for-profit organisation seeking to promote innovation in support of a strong Australian aerospace sector.
  • Christine Parfitt (WA) – Managing Director of the Bottle for Botol app, an innovative water station location app that provides people the ability to locate nearby water stations in Indonesia.
  • Dr Tanya Petrovich (VIC) – Manager, Business Development at Alzheimer’s Australia Vic, who nurture empathy through the development of the Virtual Dementia Experience™, VR apps and VR goggles technology.
  • Tele Tan (WA) – Founder and Deputy Director of the Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance, a social innovation harnessing the special talents of people on the autism spectrum.

Creative Universe founder and Ci2016 Executive Producer, Tania de Jong AM, says the scholarship winners will be well received by event attendees for contributing innovative solutions in the race to the future.

“The theme for Ci2016 is “The Exponential Shift: Making Transformation Happen” and our scholarship winners have embraced innovative thinking and creativity to bring their fresh ideas, leadership and courage to a range of challenging issues,” Ms de Jong said.

A number of emerging innovators who are previous Creative Innovation Global scholarship winners have found significant support, mentors and capital through the event to help them progress their enterprises.

Creative Innovation 2016 will feature over 40 world-class speakers, innovators and thinkers at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins from 7-9 November. The event includes a program of 13 Master Classes, Deep Conversations, two action-packed Conference days, a Gala Dinner, Artists-in-Residence and networking opportunities.