Mel Woodward Cup Invests

$40,000 in student entrepreneurs

Successful precedent

In 2003 entrepreneur David Kelly (B.Comm.’68) connected with a group of 12 Memorial students, including Jamie King, Brendan Brothers and Raymond Pretty, and together they explored ways to combat financial crime over the course of a six-month project.

Soon after, Verafin was born with Mr. King, Mr. Brothers and Mr. Pretty as its co-founders.

Verafin is now the industry’s leading financial crime management platform. It was acquired by Nasdaq for US$2.75 billion in 2020, and its software is used in more than 3,000 banks and credit unions across North America.

Student-led companies focused on engineering software and waste management efficiency were the big winners at the 2023 Mel Woodward Cup.

Notch Embedded, founded by computer engineering student Shane Williams, won the $25,000 top prize for his software tool that allows engineers to quickly support new chips in electronic designs.

The $15,000 runner-up was SmartBin, which has developed a sensor to detect when waste bins are full to save companies time and money and plan more efficient collection processes.

SmartBin was founded by Aneesh Raghupathy, an undergraduate science student, and Niraj Shukla.

The company is currently running a pilot project with Heave Away Waste Management with plans to launch commercially.

SmartBin is also enrolled in the Enterprise incubator program at Genesis.

Investing in future tech Interested industry participants must invest $5,000 in the project.

The MCE will contribute up to $23,000 in student entrepreneurial work term or internship bursaries and support for project expenses. Participants can also avail of guidance from MCE staff as well as its co-working space.

The project is supported by a $20,000 donation from the Fry Family Foundation.

Both the winner and runner-up will receive in-kind prizes from Altitude Media, Gardiner Centre, Genesis, HeyOrca!, KMPG, McInnes Cooper, Perfect Day and techNL.

Two other awards were handed out at the event, courtesy of the Fry Family Foundation.

Stephanie Roberts, co-founder of Med SimuLabs, won the award for women or non-binary leadership and CodeDoc Hub, founded by Tashin Ahmed Prottoy and Shawon Ibn Kamal, won for an earlystage idea.

The seventh edition of the Mel Woodward Cup saw five finalist teams compete at the Emera Innovation Exchange, Signal Hill Campus, before panel of expert judges.

The Mel Woodward Cup was created through a donation to the Faculty of Business Administration in 2017 from the family of the late Dr. Mel Woodward, founder of the Woodward Group of Companies. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) also provides support for the competition. ■■■

Former dean of engineering named to Order of Canada

A former dean and professor emeritus of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied has been named a member of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Ross Peters was named for his multiple contributions to engineering, notably in engineering education and regulation that have advanced the engineering profession provincially, nationally and internationally.

The Order of Canada is the highest civilian honour in Canada and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation.

In 1963, after graduating from the University of Toronto with a bachelor of engineering degree, Dr. Peters joined Memorial University as a professor. During the next 30 years, he held several leadership positions, including leader of the Ocean Engineering Research Group and associate dean of engineering responsible for graduate studies in the faculty. He served as dean of Engineering and Applied Science from 1982-92 and led the faculty’s engineering programs to full accreditation.

In addition to his outstanding academic accomplishments, Dr. Peters also made significant contributions to the engineering profession through his outstanding leadership and selfless guidance.

His many contributions to the profession include service as director of the Canadian Council for Professional Engineers; chair of the National Committee of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science; member of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (including two years as chair); fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering; and president of the Association of Professional Engineers of Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr. Peters also co-chaired the Hibernia Assessment and Review Panel and served on the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board for 11 years. ■■

The first annual Student Design Showcase brought in more than $23,000 in sponsorships, donations and in-kind support for student teams at Memorial.

The event, held last May 18, was organized by Memorial’s Student Design Hub, a collaborative manufacturing and assembly space on Memorial’s St. John’s campus. The hub was created to provide support to any undergraduate or graduate student competing in student-centred competitions or developing products as part of a startup.

The hub supports students in many areas. It provides them with access to equipment, prototyping spaces and creating tailored content. It also provides inspiration, guidance and connections to help students bring design and artistic projects to life.

Six teams, Paradigm Engineering; Eastern Edge Robotics; MUN RoboSub; FMUNTenth; Phoenix Aerospace; and MUN Concrete Toboggan, which comprised of students from the faculties of Business Administration, Science, and Engineering and Applied Science, each presented five-minute pitches and answered tough questions from attendees.

The award for Best in Show went to the MUN Concrete Toboggan.

After the pitches, participants and attendees networked in the newly created Student Design Hub Prototyping Laboratory. ■■■