When the inaugural UQ Ventures Scholarships were announced, the goal was simple: back students who are already taking action and give them the support to go further.
A year on, that belief is proving well placed.
Across hardware innovation, energy technology and AI-driven platforms, our scholarship recipients have continued building, testing ideas and learning what it really takes to bring something into the world.
While each journey has looked different, what they share is a willingness to experiment, adapt and keep moving forward.
This year's applications are now open for the UQ Ventures and Carl Hartmann Scholarships.
Madison Group Tech Entrepreneurship Scholarship
Samuel Gonzalez – Peregrine Dynamics
For Samuel, the past year has been defined by deep execution and the realities of building a hardware startup from the ground up.
Peregrine Dynamics, is a dual use drone technology venture focused on advanced UAV systems. Over the year, he designed and built a working prototype, secured Letters of Intent from UAV companies, signed NDAs with defence industry partners and progressed early discussions around licensing and commercial pathways.
Alongside technical development, Samuel pitched at TEN13 Runway, received venture capital funding offers and invested heavily in both prototyping and ecosystem engagement. Scholarship support enabled critical spend on components, electronics and a dedicated home workstation, allowing him to produce proof of concept builds that would not have been possible while balancing paid work and full time study.
Beyond milestones, the year sharpened Samuel’s founder senses. Learning how to filter advice, navigate burnout and adapt software centric startup guidance to the realities of hardware development. The experience reinforced the discipline required to build responsibly, safely and persistently in a high stakes technical domain.
Chaitanya Devane – Venture Exploration
For Chaitanya, the scholarship year was marked by sustained commitment to entrepreneurial exploration alongside a demanding dual degree in Mechatronic Engineering (Honours) and Commerce (Finance).
Across the year, Chaitanya logged approximately 1,270 hours working on entrepreneurial activities outside coursework. This time was spent progressing early stage ventures and projects, developing technical and commercial insight, and building the habits required to operate effectively across multiple priorities.
The experience was not without challenge. Balancing ventures, internships and university commitments required deliberate experimentation with prioritisation and self management. Rather than stepping back, Chaitanya used the year to refine his approach. Learning how to focus effort, manage energy and continue moving forward without burning out.
Through this process, Chaitanya strengthened key entrepreneurial skills including problem discovery, technical and design thinking, financial literacy, leadership and pitching. The scholarship provided the space to take these lessons beyond theory, helping him build the foundation for future ventures grounded in execution, discipline and long term momentum.
Carl Hartmann Future Entrepreneurs Endowment
Patricia Cottrell – BlueGrid
Since receiving the scholarship, Patricia has continued advancing BlueGrid, a hardware project exploring modular micro energy storage systems designed for marine environments.
Over the past year, Patricia has focused heavily on the engineering and prototyping phase of the venture. She has designed and fabricated structural housing components, developed modular 3D-printed parts and begun assembling the first working prototype using PVC housing and custom internal supports.
More than 100 hours of dedicated venture development has gone into researching specialised materials, sourcing components and planning the system architecture needed to move toward electrical testing.
This stage of the journey reflects the reality of deep technology ventures. Progress often begins with careful experimentation, iteration and engineering design before any public launch or commercialisation.
Patricia’s work sits at the intersection of energy systems and environmental technology, and the next phase will focus on building a functional prototype capable of generating measurable energy output and gathering performance data.
UQ Ventures Scholarship
Nicholas Egan – MyHive
For Nicholas, the scholarship year has been defined by the full entrepreneurial cycle. Building, testing, pivoting and learning.
At the beginning of the year, Nicholas continued developing MyHive, an AI-driven platform designed to reduce loneliness among older Australians by connecting people through shared interests and voice technology. Through partnerships with organisations including Ruby Gardens and Living Gems, the team conducted real-world beta testing within aged care communities.
While the concept was compelling, testing revealed that engagement with voice-based devices was lower than expected. The experience ultimately led Nicholas to make the difficult decision to wind down the venture.
Rather than stepping away from entrepreneurship, Nicholas continued exploring new ideas. He launched PixelKit, which evolved into Vena, a concept aimed at helping professional sports teams increase fan loyalty and engagement through digital experiences. Over 25 discovery calls with sports executives across Australia helped shape the idea and informed the development of an early MVP.
Through these ventures Nicholas has logged over 1,100 hours working on startups during the year. Building products, conducting customer discovery, pitching concepts and navigating the challenges that come with early-stage ventures.
More importantly, the experience has sharpened his understanding of product-market fit, problem discovery and founder resilience.
The Real Impact of the Scholarship
These Ventures Scholarships were created to give students the freedom to explore ideas, develop skills and push themselves beyond the classroom.
Sometimes that leads to a startup gaining traction. Sometimes it leads to a pivot, a new idea or a deeper understanding of what problem to solve next.
Both outcomes are part of the journey.
What matters most is that these students are building the mindset to look at the world around them and ask: what could this become?
And that mindset is exactly what Ventures hopes to support.
The 2026 Ventures Scholarships are…
We are excited to be re-opening our Carl Hartmann Future Entrepreneurs Endowment and UQ Ventures Scholarships for 2026.
> Apply here