Winners
of the 12th annual KiwiNet
Research Commercialisation Awards were honoured at a
gala event in Auckland last night for their success in
transforming scientific discoveries into new technologies,
businesses and real-world solutions. Winners’ innovations
include animal-free dairy proteins, high protein oat
milk powder, a plant-based polystyrene replacement, medtech
AI for eye exams, and advanced engineering innovations for
health and building resilience. KiwiNet’s
Commercialisation Icon and Commercialisation Rising Star
were also honoured.
The KiwiNet Awards celebrate deep
tech heroes from across New Zealand, including research
entrepreneurs, innovators and commercialisation
professionals who are driving significant economic and
societal benefits for Aotearoa by creating innovations
emerging from outstanding research within New Zealand’s
universities, Crown Research Institutes and other research
organisations.
The 2024 KiwiNet Research
Commercialisation Awards winners are:
Momentum
Student Entrepreneur Award
- Emma Arvidson
– Teiny/ Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of
Canterbury: High protein oat milk powder with
impact
Sprout Agritech Breakthrough
Innovator Award
- Emily McIsaac – Daisy
Lab/ Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University: Making
dairy proteins – without the
cows
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BNZ Researcher
Entrepreneur Award
- Distinguished
Professor Geoff Chase – Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha |
University of Canterbury: Engineering better medicine and
a more resilient New
Zealand
KCA
Commercialisation Rising Star
Award
- Ben Pearson – UniServices:
Building connections and collaboration for exceptional
outcomes
PwC Breakthrough Project
Award
- ZealaFoam® – AgResearch/ Plant
& Food Research/ Scion: Breaking the mould with
sustainable plant-based polystyrene
replacement
AJ
Park Commercialisation Impact Award
- Toku
Eyes and Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland:
Medtech AI: Using the eye as a window to our
health
Commercialisation
Icon
- Melissa Yiannoutsos, Booster NZ:
A transformative leader in New Zealand’s science and
commercialisation ecosystem
The
Commercialisation Icon is KiwiNet’s highest honour. It is
awarded to a champion of New Zealand’s research
commercialisation community who has made an outstanding
impact on the ecosystem and advanced the commercialisation
of publicly funded research within New
Zealand.
KiwiNet CEO Dr James
Hutchinson says,: “Our 2024 winners are
shining examples of how New Zealand’s public research,
combined with exceptional commercialisation leadership, can
drive both economic growth and meaningful solutions to
global challenges. The KiwiNet Awards do more than
recognise outstanding
projects—they celebrate the collective strength
of our innovation community. As our sector matures and
momentum builds, we must keep pushing forward to
amplify the impact of New Zealand’s science on the world
stage.”
KiwiNet Awards judge
Cather Simpson says, “The 2024 KiwiNet
Awards finalists are a testament to the depth and diversity
of innovation in Aotearoa. These exceptional projects
highlight how long-term investment and collaboration
across our ecosystem are now delivering real returns
for New Zealand. These innovations have the potential
to drive significant economic,
environmental and societal change. Choosing winners
wasn’t easy—every finalist impressed us with their
impact and ingenuity. We’re excited to celebrate
their achievements and look forward to their future
successes.”
The 2024 KiwiNet Awards judging
panel comprised Cather Simpson – CEO of Orbis
Diagnostics and Partner at Pacific Channel; Greg Sitters –
Managing Partner at Matū Group; Guy Royal – Director
of Tuia Group; Suse Reynolds – Angel Investor; and Olivia
Ogilvie – CEO and co-founder of Opo Bio.
Nic
Blakeley, Deputy Secretary Labour, Science, and Enterprise
at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment, says, “Congratulations to the winners
of this year’s KiwiNet Awards. New Zealand is home to
excellent science and research, and the winners today have
each demonstrated success in commercialising science outputs
to produce real-world impacts. These innovations will
benefit our environment, health, and economy into the
future, growing New Zealand for all.”
The Kiwi
Innovation Network (KiwiNet)
is a consortium of 19 universities, Crown Research
Institutes, an Independent Research Organisation and a Crown
Entity established to boost commercial outcomes from
publicly funded research by helping to transform scientific
discoveries into new products and services.
The 2024
KiwiNet Awards are supported by MBIE, PwC NZ, Sprout Agritech,
BNZ, KCA, Campus Plus and AJ Park as well as Return On
Science, Momentum,
and Matū, the sponsor of the
Momentum Student
Entrepreneur.
