Held on the eve of World Entrepreneurs’ Day, The University of Queensland (UQ) Entrepreneurship and Innovation Awards for 2025 celebrated outstanding entrepreneurs across the University’s ecosystem.
Presented by UQ Ventures and supported by UniQuest and the Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA), the awards recognised students, researchers, alumni, and industry partners who are driving innovation, creating jobs, and contributing to economic growth both locally and globally.
“These awards are a testament to the bold ideas and deep purpose driving UQ’s entrepreneurial community. From local impact to global reach, our founders are creating positive change that extends far beyond campus—and that’s something worth celebrating,” said Dr Veronica Nolan, Acting Head of Entrepreneurship at UQ.
The Acting Head of Entrepreneurship welcomed attendees to the event and she continued by saying, “It’s exciting to see our students and founders building momentum, many of whom start in our foundational programs like Curiosity and Validate, and progress through and beyond our Empower and ilab Accelerators."
Congratulations to the 2025 Award winners:
- UQ Student Entrepreneur of the Year: Nicholas Egan
- UQ Startup of the Year: Polinate
- UQ Social Enterprise of the Year: Kolmi
- FaBA Food and Beverage Startup of the Year: My PlantCo
UQ Ventures was also proud to introduce the inaugural recipients of its new scholarship program - four bold students who are turning ideas into impact. These scholarships celebrate creativity, leadership, and entrepreneurial spirit, and mark a new chapter in how UQ supports changemakers from all backgrounds.
Congratulations to the 2025 Scholarship winners:
- Madison Group Enterprises Tech Entrepreneurship Scholarship: Chaitanya Devane and Sam Gonzalez Altahona
- Carl Hartmann Future Entrepreneurs Endowment: Patricia Cottrell
- Ventures Scholarships: Nicholas Egan
Read more about our scholarship winners here.
UQ Student Entrepreneur of the Year
Nicholas Egan
What if there was a way to help older Australians live independently for longer—safely and confidently?
That’s the mission behind MyHive, a community-powered safety app co-founded by Nicholas Egan, this year’s UQ Student Entrepreneur of the Year.
Nicholas, a current Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics (Honours) student, has combined his passion for innovation with a deep sense of purpose. MyHive enables users to receive emergency assistance in minutes, not hours, from trusted, verified individuals nearby. Built on the belief that people have an innate desire to help, the platform is designed to keep families safe, connected, and supported.
Together with his father Paul Egan, Nicholas has taken MyHive from concept to impact, winning top honours at the 2025 ilab Accelerator Chapter 1 Pitch Night and earning praise from judges and peers alike for its smart, scalable design and powerful social mission.
Dr Veronica Nolan, Acting Head of Entrepreneurship at UQ, said that it was wonderful to recognise Nicholas at the awards.
“It is Nicholas’ entrepreneurial spirit, his desire to learn from others, his integrity, generosity, and drive that have earned him the respect of his peers and mentors alike.”
UQ Startup of the Year
Polinate
Polinate is a SaaS logistics startup business aimed at revolutionising how hospitality businesses manage procurement, inventory, and supplier relationships. Co-founded by UQ alum Adeep Mitra and current student Corey Berther, Polinate has created an AI powered platform to help hospitality venues save hours each week, reduce errors, and gain better visibility into their supply chains. Polinate empowers businesses to get real-time analytics and scale efficiently while cutting down on administrative tasks and overhead.
Throughout their entrepreneurial journey, Polinate has undertaken highly competitive business incubator programs such as UQ Ventures ilab Accelerator Program, winning the Entrepreneur-in-Residence award at the ilab Pitch Night event. Polinate also took part in the 2024 UQ Ventures x FaBA Food Innovation Challenge
Polinate is a passionate tech start up, determined to reshape how this sector of the wider food industry operates. Their mission is to ensure that hospitality venues ordering supplies for their day-to-day operations is not a time-consuming hassle, so they can get back to what they love.
UQ Social Enterprise of the Year
Kolmi
Kolmi is an edtech start up aimed at making learning English more accessible and affordable via WhatsApp-based coaching model that promises to help students excel in their International English Language Testing System (IELTS) speaking tests.
Founded by UQ Master of Business students and entrepreneurs Angel Jauhari and Kezia Tjandra, Kolmi has used their entrepreneurial spirit to create a high-quality platform to learn English without the high prices typically associated with similar services.
Kolmi is driven by a deep desire to solve challenges faced by many different groups of people, wanting to learn English yet the associated costs being a persistent roadblock. In their entrepreneurial journey, Co-Founders Angel Jauhari and Kezia Tjandra, has been through UQ ventures programs Curiosity and Empower to help to make their game changing idea a reality. Currently, Kolmi supports over 500+ students across Indonesia.
Kolmi 's mission is to ensure that learning English is not just limited to those who have the wealth to pay for traditional classes or other expensive online programs, revolutionising how English is learnt and taught in the process.
FaBA Food and Beverage Startup of the Year
My PlantCo
My PlantCo is a future-focused food innovation company dedicated to creating sustainable, plant-based products that are loved by people and the planet.
Founded by Mei Yong, who is also the CEO, My PlantCo brings together three dynamic brands—Turban Chopsticks, Real Oats, and Kado—each committed to transforming everyday ingredients into extraordinary solutions.
My PlantCo is leading a $5.6 million research collaboration with UQ and FaBA to revolutionise oat consumption, the largest research project undertaken by FaBA’s since its establishment at UQ.
My PlantCo is one of the organisations at the forefront of changing how we produce food, improving the environmental impact and sustainability of food production.
The UQ Entrepreneurship and Innovation Awards showcase the university's vibrant entrepreneurial network and its impact on fostering innovative ventures across various fields each year. More of our inspirational founders will be on display in October, when we take Ventures to the stage for the Ventures ilab x Momentum Accelerator Pitch Night!
