The UQ SmartHarvest team were recently announced as one of seven finalists in the 2020 Global Business Challenge.
This year's theme of the 2020 Global Business Challenge is to ‘develop novel and sustainable solutions to aid in resource recovery and promote the circular economy’. The winner of the Global Business Challenge will receive up to AU$100,000 in prize money.
The submission to the competition by the UQ SmartHarvest team will help farmers estimate current and upcoming demand. Through using SmartHarvest, farmers can access demand data, giving them the necessary information to make strategic business decisions, including what other farmers are currently growing.
UQ alumnus, Dr Zhong Xiang Cheah (Bachelor of Agricultural Science Hons 1 ’15, Doctor of Philosophy '20) is part of the SmartHarvest team that created the solution. He explained why the team chose this particular challenge.
"Vegetable farmers in Australia do not have access to demand data including what other farmers are currently growing. For example, without data, too many farmers may grow broccoli while not enough farmers will grow tomatoes,” Cheah said.
“The excessive supply of vegetables will then be wasted and this will impact greenhouse gas emissions. Additional resources such as water, electricity, fossil fuel, fertilisers and chemicals are also unnecessarily used to produce crops that will never be consumed. Meanwhile, the lack in tomato supply will cause prices to rise.”
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The Global Business Challenge
153 teams representing 48 institutions from across 23 countries registered to compete in the 2020 Global Business Challenge hosted by The University of Queensland, with university partners QUT, and Griffith University.
UQ team SmartHarvest joins six global student teams in the Virtual Final Round, 27-30 October 2020.
Keep an eye out as the winning team will be announced and awarded AU$100,000 at the Gala Dinner event later this month on 30 October.
The Global Business Challenge was established as a global competition for postgraduate students to apply their intellect and expertise toward developing solutions to global challenges.
Stay up-to-date on sponsored student and innovator of agribusiness solution, SmartHarvest, Dr Zhong Xiang Cheah and his Global Business Challenge journey on our Ventures socials channels.
Earlier this year Cheah and his team of innovators tested their solutions at the inaugural Ventures Virtual Hackathon.
