The Future of Health Challenge 2025, designed and delivered by the UC Centre for Entrepreneurship (UCE) in partnership with Te Papa Hauora, brought together a record-breaking 80 students from UC, Ara, Otago, and Lincoln Universities. Over an intensive two-day sprint, these emerging changemakers formed teams to address some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most pressing health challenges—working towards the vision of a sustainable health system.
This year’s Challenge focused on three key areas:
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- Prevention – How can we more effectively prevent, detect, and treat health issues?
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- Promotion – How can we better support healthy communities?
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- Environment – How can we shape our health system to use resources more responsibly?
Inspired by launch speakers from Te Papa Hauora, the Canterbury District Health Board, and oVRcome, and guided by a dedicated team of expert mentors, students delivered a wide range of innovative and practical solutions.
Our esteemed panel of judges—Pete Townsend, Kim Sinclair-Morris, Mark Hampton, Dr. Wendy Maddocks, and David Meates—were highly impressed by the calibre of ideas, the collaborative spirit, and the passion demonstrated by all teams.
In fact, the quality of submissions was so high that, in addition to the prize winners, the judges chose to commend two standout ideas:
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- A mole check app to aid in the early detection and prevention of skin cancer, and
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- A programme for inclusive and engaging diabetes education designed specifically for children.
2025 Prize Winners
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- 1st Place – $1,500 + $1,500 in-kind advisory support
Pressure Pointers, asolution using intelligent pressure-sensing plates to help prevent bed sores in long-term care settings.
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- 2nd Place – $1,000 + $1,000 in-kind advisory support
Tu Tangata, a whakapapa-based mental health app tailored to Māori men, providing resources, connection, and training to support genuine human relationships.
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- 3rd Place – $500 + $500 in-kind advisory support
Shelf Made, a system designed to reduce pharmacy waste by minimising the expiry of unused medications.
This experience creates meaningful opportunities for students across disciplines to engage with real-world challenges, build networks, develop skills—and begin making a real impact in Aotearoa’s health sector.
A sincere thank you to our incredible judges, mentors, and launch speakers for generously sharing your time and expertise—your support was invaluable.
And finally, congratulations to every student who took part. Your creativity, drive, and commitment to a healthier future were nothing short of inspiring.
