About the Prize

The Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize, that was launched in January this year, aims to promote entrepreneurship and innovation within the NTU community to develop most promising and impactful solutions and innovation to address sustainability issues benefitting people and society, in Singapore and beyond.

After several months of preparation and hard work, with mentorship and guidance by a panel of mentors, 11 finalists will battle it out in a pitching competition as they vie for the top prize of $50,000 and two runners-up will each receive $25,000.

Demo Day

After several months of preparation and hard work, with mentorship and guidance by a panel of mentors, seven teams battled it out in a pitching competition as they vied for the top prize of $50,000 and two runners-up who will each receive $25,000.

Welcome Address by Prof Foo Maw Der, Director, NTU Entrepreneurship Academy,
Professor, Nanyang Business School,
Director, Asian Business Case Centre

Opening Address by Prof Louis Phee, Vice President (Innovation & Entrepreneurship),
Dean, College of Engineering, NTU

Address by Mr Hari Kumar, Founder & CEO, LionRock Capital
The Kumar Family Philanthropic Foundation

Judges

1. Mr Hari Kumar, Founder & CEO of LionRock Capital, The Kumar Family Philanthropic Foundation.
2. Prof Foo Maw Der, Director of the NTU Entrepreneurship Academy, Professor at the Nanyang Business School, and Director of the Asian Business Case Centre.
3. Dr John Gerard Heng, Senior Lecturer, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, NTU, and Fellow, NTU Entrepreneurship Academy.
4. Ms Yap Su-E, Vice President of Wavemaker Impact.
5. Mr Chris Fong, alumnus of NTUpreneur’s Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation Programme (MSc TIP) and Co-founder of Fefifo.
6. Mr Ted Chen, alumnus of NTUpreneur’s Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation Programme (MSc TIP) and Co-founder & CEO of Evercomm Singapore.

Presentation by the teams

From Left – Right: Thong Peiyu, Wee Wen Bin, Frentzen Seow Ziheng, Lee Jun Yong
Presentation by Team HeatSig with undergrad students, Wee Wen Bin, Frentzen Seow Ziheng, Lee Jun Yong and Thong Peiyu from EEE. The students presented on how they will set out to digitalise and future-proof all the buildings in the world by offering big data analytics.

From Left – Right: Xiao Xiao, Chen Xi, Linghu Changhong, Xiaochen
Presentation by Team Carbonstruction consisting of postgrad students, Linghu Changhong, Chen Xi, Sun Xiaochen and Xiao Xiao from NTUpreneur, MAE, and CEE respectively. They explained how their 3-R processing technique can produce artificial carbon-negative concrete, leading to sustainable construction and better waste management.

From Left – Right: Lim Ju Yen, Yap Jia Jun, Ho Min Han, Gan Yi Xiang, Lee Jun Hoe
Presentation by Team ReBina with undergrad students, Lee Jun Hoe, Gan Yi Xiang, Lim Ju Yen, Ho Min Han and Yap Jia Jun from MAE. The students demonstrated their all-in-one smart bin which can help to separate contaminated wastes and categorise trash into their respective recyclable subgroups. This is done through an integrated sorting system that uses computer vision and cloud computing.

From Left – Right: Ding Bosheng, Luo Tianze and Fang Mengwei
Presentation by Team CarbonTrace consisting of postgrad students, Ding Bosheng, Luo Tianze and Fang Mengwei from SCSE and NTUpreneur. The project tackles the issue of tracking carbon emissions accurately, and their pitch focused on how to use blockchain technology in carbon tracing, carbon reduction, carbon trading, and carbon regulation.

From Left – Right: Kong Qi Herng, Denzel Goh Kai Zhe and Wolarpol (Oliver) Chaisawat.
Presentation by Team Moonbeam consisting of postgrad and undergrad students, Kong Qi Herng, Wolarpol (Oliver) Chaisawat and Denzel Goh Kai Zhe, from NTUpreneur and CEE. The students presented about their proprietary technologies and formulations that convert spent grains into sustainable granola and other products.

From Left – Right: Tong Ying, Ashish Chugh, Lokeshh Sampath, Param Srinivasan, Amelia Choong
Presentation by Team Eupheus with undergrad students, Param Srinivasan, Amelia Choong, Ashish Chugh, Lokeshh Sampath and Tong Ying from COE’s Renaissance Engineering Programme. The team seeks to enables holistic education that teaches people skills and knowledge that conventional school curriculum does not.

From Left – Right: Aditya Kumar
Presentation by Team EcoTag consisting of undergrad students Aditya Kumar, Aryan Ahuja, Ananya Varshney and Ishita Saraf from NBS, SCSE and EEE. They presented on how to mitigate “idle space” that arises from the mismatch between available shipment capacity and its desired usage, which is causing revenue loss for carriers as well as avoidable global carbon footprint.

Finalists’ Posters Showcase at AIA Canopy 

The finalists for the Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize showcased posters of their projects and had the opportunity to talk to the judges, mentors and guests who attended the event. 

Participants and guests were treated to Sustainable Specialty Coffee by Venture Drive Coffee, founded by NTUpreneur’s Minor in Entrepreneurship (MiE) alumna Chng Xueru. 

In addition, there was a herb-cutting booth by NTUpreneur’s Minor in Entrepreneurship (MiE) alumnus, Mr Roc Koh from Corridor Farmers.

Forum & Panel Discussion: Connect, Collaborate and Co-create in Sustainability

The forum provides participants with a deep understanding on the power of collaboration and co-creation in the space of sustainability. It equips them with the knowledge and skills to create effective partnerships and drive positive change in their organisations and communities. It highlights the benefits and importance of networking, as entrepreneurs connect with stakeholders from across sectors and disciplines, including government, NGOs and other businesses, to tap into new resources, expertise and markets, to co-create businesses and solutions in the sustainability domain.

Presentation by Ms Grace Sai, alumna of NBS and Co-founder & CEO of Unravel Carbon.

Presentation by Mr Ted Chen, alumnus of NTUpreneur’s Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation Programme (MSc TIP) and Co-founder & CEO of Evercomm Singapore.

Presentation by Ms Ivy Wu, alumna of NTUpreneur’s Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation Programme (MSc TIP) and Co-founder & CMO, Formfty Singapore.

The three speakers at the Panel Discussion: Connect, Collaborate and Co-create in Sustainability.

The Winners of the Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize

After the forum and panel discussion, the winners for the prize were announced. 

Congratulations to the First Prize Winner of the Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize, Team Carbonstruction.

Congratulations to the 1st Runner-up for the Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize, Team Moonbeam.

Congratulations to the 2nd Runner-up for the Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize, Team Eupheus. 

NTU Entrepreneurship Academy reserves the right in its sole discretion to make modification or cancellation to the above-mentioned.

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