On Wednesday 4 November, 20 teams of high school entrepreneurs from across Australia pitched innovative, scalable and sustainable business ideas live online in the first ever Future Anything virtual Activate National Semi Finals.
Activate is Future Anything’s award winning youth entrepreneurship program delivered in high schools across Australia. During 2020, over 40 schools have participated, challenging their young people to research, develop and prototype scalable business solutions that make the world a better place. It culminates a series of virtual Regional and National Semi Finals with students pitching live for the chance to progress to the high profile National Grand Final.
Four National Semi Finals took place live online on Wednesday 4 November.
Semi Final 1 saw Hermit Homies (St Catherine’s Catholic College), AquaShield (St Andrew’s Anglican College), Amortis (Sheldon College), Military Kids (Ferny Grove SHS) and an independent entry, Safe and Secure pitch their ideas live online.
The judges Eddie Blass (Inventorium), Alex Hannant (Yunus Centre) and Elise Stephenson (Social Good Outpost) faced an incredibly tough decision but selected Aquashield as the overall winner. The team is addressing the unnecessary killing of thousands of aquatic species along the coasts of Australia due to shark nets. Independent team Safe and Secure, which is solving the issue of plastic waste generated by condoms took out both the Runner Up place and People’s Vote.
In the second Semi Final, ReCycle (MacGregor SHS), Did I Say Yes? (Kildare College), Yarra Youngins (Yarrabilba SSC) heART (Mercy College Mackay) and Page Pals (Ferny Grove SHS) went head to head.
Judges Joel Connolly (Blackbird Foundation), Usman Iftikhar (Catalysr) and Lucy Thomas OAM (Project Rockit) posed some tough questions and, after much debate, selected MacGregor SHS’s ReCycle as the second winner of the day. The team aims to address poverty and unemployment in Logan City, and help the environment by repurposing used bicycles to help the environment. Runner up was Mercy College Mackay’s heART while the People’s Vote went to Did I Say Yes? From Kildare College.
While many in the world had their eyes fixed on the race to the White House, our lucky online audience watched as Heal It (Corinda SHS), Demergency (Redcliffe SHS), 7th Green (Marymount College) and The I AM Project (Springfield Central SHS) battling our in Semi Final 3.
Again, the judges Alex Afflick (Audeara), Rosie Thomas OAM (Project Rockit) and Liz Jackson (Sydney Catholic Schools) were impressed by some great pitches and super smart ideas. But after much discussion, they settled on Springfield Central SHS’s The I AM Project as their winner. This team is seeking to support school-aged students experiencing negative thinking and low self esteem. Corinda SHS’s Heal It was a close second, coming away with both Runner Up and the People’s Vote.
The day ended on a high as teams FunpunsbyAndy (The Gap SHS), Interra (Cardijn College), AKA Cancer (Redbank Plains SHS), You’re the Boss (Mercy College Mackay) and Murph’s Solution (Bribie Island SHS)
The judging panel Tom Allen (Impact Boom), Hamish Curry (Asialink) and Daizy Mann (Bold Punjab) were blown away by the teams and their ideas. As the winner, they selected The Gap SHS’s FunpunsbyAndy, supporting young people experiencing mental health challenges. In the closest People’s Vote of the day, You’re the Boss emerged victorious , having also snapped up the Runner Up spot.
NEXT STEP, THE NATIONAL GRAND FINAL!
The four Semi Final winners (Aquashield, ReCycle, The I AM Project, and FundpunsbyAndy) now progress to the National Grand Final on Friday 13 November.
They’ll also be joined by all four People’s Vote winners (Heal It, You’re the Boss, Did I Say Yes?, and Safe and Secure).
Nicole Dyson, Founder of Future Anything said “The standard from all teams today, not just our winners, was truly outstanding. Judges commented on how students’ passion for their solutions and their connection to their own real life experiences really shone through.”
Nic added “I’m excited about the National Grand Final. We expanded the event to include all our People’s Vote winners as there are so many great ideas, we want the world to see them!”.
The Future Anything 2020 National Grand Final takes place live online on Friday 13 November starting at 12.30pm AEST.
Click here for details and to register for your free tickets!
Future Anything transforms young people’s passion and curiosity into innovative ideas that make the world a better place. We support educators to lead authentic Australian curriculum-aligned learning experiences that connect students to the real world.
Read more here and click here to join our mailing list to receive all the latest news on the 2020 National Finals.
Semi Final 2 (10.30am – 11.30am AEST)
Click here to register to watch live to support our Semi Final 2 teams!
- ReCycle (MacGregor SHS) – Addressing poverty and unemployment in Logan City by repurposing used bicycles to help the environment.
- Did I Say Yes? (Kildare College) – Tackling sexual assault towards women.
- Yarra Youngins (Yarrabilba SSC) – Tackling youth disengagement in their local area.
- heART (Mercy College Mackay) – Introducing art therapy for individuals as a coping mechanism during times of stress, anxiety, or depression.
- Page Pals (Ferny Grove SHS) – Tacking mental health through reading.
Meet the judges:
- Joel Connolly – Head, Blackbird Foundation
- Usman Iftikhar – CEO, Catalysr
- Lucy Thomas OAM – Co-Founder & CEO, Project Rockit
Semi Final 3 (12 noon – 1pm AEST)
Click here to register to watch live to support our Semi Final 3 teams!
- Heal It (Corinda SHS) – Tackling low self-esteem, stress and depression by supporting people to live to their best every day.
- Demergency (Redcliffe SHS) – Helping dementia patients’ lives by improving their safety and security.
- 7th Green (Marymount College) – Addressing deforestation and the clearing of land for developmental reasons
- Bamboo4edu (Emmaus College Jimboomba) – Tacking pollution, education challenges in developing countries, and homelessness
- The I AM Project (Springfield Central SHS) – Addressing the issue of self-worth and our negative thinking, particularly in school-aged students
Meet the judges:
- Alex Afflick, Chief Technology Officer, Audeara
- Rosie Thomas OAM – Co-Founder & CEO, Project Rockit
- Liz Jackson – Global Capabilities, Sydney Catholic Schools
Semi Final 4 (1.30pm – 2.30pm AEST)
Click here to register to watch live to support our Semi Final 4 teams!
- FunpunsbyAndy (The Gap SHS) – Addressing mental health, especially in young people.
- Interra (Cardijn College) – Addressing coral bleaching and ecosystem decay on the Great Barrier Reef.
- AKA Cancer (Redbank Plains SHS) – Helping children facing childhood cancer have a better experience during treatment and in hospital.
- You’re the Boss (Mercy College Mackay) Giving individuals suffering from anxiety, depression, or mental illness the opportunity to connect with others who have experienced similar feelings and emotions.
- Murph’s Solution (Bribie Island SHS) Addressing a lack of reading opportunities in the home and supporting the ability of parents to build these skills in young children.
Meet the judges:
- Tom Allen – Founder & CEO, Impact Boom
- Hamish Curry – Executive Director, Asia Education Foundation at Asialink
- Daizy Mann – Founder, Australian South Asia Centre & Bold Punjab
Future Anything transforms young people’s passion and curiosity into innovative ideas that make the world a better place. We support educators to lead authentic Australian curriculum-aligned learning experiences that connect students to the real world.
Read more here and click here to join our mailing list to receive all the latest news on the 2020 National Semi Finals.
