Velocity Ideas Challenge

Do you have an idea to solve a social issue, tackle an environmental problem, or seize a market opportunity? Maybe your idea is inspired by university research?

Submit an entry of up to 1,000 words showcasing your solution for the chance to win $1,000! Open to all students and staff at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland, this challenge is designed to ignite innovation and celebrate fresh thinking.

Our judges are on the lookout for ideas with the potential to fly. Winners receive a cash prize – no strings attached. Use it to develop your idea, kickstart your venture, or however you choose!

CIE’s programmes are free for University of Auckland students and staff. These co-curricular programmes help develop innovation and entrepreneurship skills alongside formal studies. While there are no formal assessments, participation may count towards the co-curricular recognition programme and the Distinguished Graduate Award.

If you’re external to the University, don’t worry – you can still enter as long as a lead applicant of your team is a University of Auckland student or staff member.

Problem identification and validation: Develop skills in identifying real-world challenges and validating solutions.

Communicating ideas effectively: Learn how to use a business canvas to clearly communicate your vision.

Industry expert feedback: Your entry will be reviewed by at least two industry experts from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a moderating panel ensuring rigorous review. Regardless of the outcome, you’ll receive feedback and advice to refine your idea further.

The chance to win $1,000! With faculty-specific prizes and speciality categories, there are 20 chances to win!

Faculty prizes

The Ideas Challenge is open to everyone from every faculty of the University of Auckland. We are looking for impactful and innovative ideas first and foremost, and we know these can come from anywhere.

Each of the six faculties will recognise the top entries submitted by their students and staff, and for the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and the Liggins Institute.

Specialty prizes

You may also qualify for a specialty prize. When you submit your entry, tick the box next to the specialty prize. You can then elaborate on why your idea is relevant to that prize.

Medtech-iQ Tāmaki Makaurau

For an idea using technology to address New Zealand’s healthcare needs including the gap in health literacy.

Fetu’una’i Award

For an idea that uses innovation to uplift and empower Pacific communities, drawing on cultural knowledge, local resources, and creative thinking to address social, environmental, or health challenges.

The Kura Roa Award

This award embodies the ethos 'Kia whakamana i a tātou', acknowledging, maintaining and restoring the mana and tapu of all. It represents our interactions with each other and our taiao. Our tūpuna traversed the moana and whenua, innovating and adapting to all challenges placed in front of them with the future in mind. This award is for ideas that continue this tradition of innovation and creativity, that enhance our interactions with our environment and each other.

Entry Development Hub

Do you need any help with your entry? Want some valuable one on one feedback and advice? Look no further, because we’re running Entry Development Hubs to help you!

These sessions are your opportunity to meet face to face with one of our Velocity committee members and discuss your entry to give yourself the best chance to do your idea justice through a strong submission.

Dates: Friday 2 May and Friday 9 May 2025, both from 12–2pm
Location: Unleash Space
Drop in anytime to chat with us or ask questions!

Ideas Challenge Workshop

In this workshop, you’ll get practical guidance to help shape and strengthen your entry. We’ll walk through what makes a compelling submission, share tips from past participants, and make sure you’ve covered all the key elements. The Velocity team will also be on hand to answer any questions about the Ideas Challenge, the entry process, or competition details.
Date: Thursday 8 May 2025, 4:30–6pm
Location: Unleash Space

3-Step ideation

Do you need help coming up with ideas that could win you a $1,000? Fill in this template to get those creative juices flowing.

Step 1: What is a problem you have faced in the past week/month?
Staying at home means that I don’t exercise as much as I used to.

Step 2: How is that problem being solved right now?
Online tutorials for workouts at home are available on YouTube and other MOOC websites.

Step 3: How can you solve that better?
These online courses feel generic and cater to everyone, but I would like workouts and a plan catered to my personal requirements. Therefore, I can have an app that asks for age, gender, height, weight, and goal requirements, and through liaising with professionals, generates a plan suited for me.

I don’t have anything to show for my idea. Can I still enter and have a shot at winning?

Of course! One of our core aims at Velocity is turning your first-class ideas into world-class businesses. We expect early-stage ideas and don’t expect to see fully functional prototypes. We just need to hear a summary of your idea at its current stage of development!

However, we do encourage you to consider strengthening your entry by working on a prototype – and the best place to start is the CIE maker space.

Our judges are looking for entries with strong potential for success, based on innovation, market understanding, combination of skills, and venture potential.

All entries are reviewed by a panel of experienced judges from across the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Each submission is assessed by at least two judges, along with a moderating panel to ensure consistency and fairness throughout the process.

Once initial evaluations are complete, the judging groups come together to select the top entries in each prize category.

Whether or not you get a prize, you’ll have the opportunity to attend a feedback session where our judges will share valuable insights to help you refine your idea and take it even further.

Read the judging criteria.

“It was through CIE and Velocity that we met our Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer Bob Drummond and one of our early investors Rudi Bublitz from Flying Kiwi Angels. When you join CIE Velocity, you don’t just join to win. You learn and grow every aspect of your business and entrepreneurial life.”
Hengjie Wang, Co-founder – Kami

“I cut my teeth in the CIE Velocity programme, and still highly recommend it to anyone. You learn best by doing. The structured programme and mentorship that comes with it are both fun and rewarding. I have also benefited from excellent mentorship and advice from UniServices and within the CIE, and I continue those relationships today.”
Greg O’Grady, Co-founder & CEO – Alimetry

“The process of developing your idea into a business is more important than the idea itself, and that’s what we learned from CIE’s Velocity. Highlights for me were the mentors we got from the programme, both of whom we stay in touch with regularly, and one of our mentors is now an adviser for Cropsy.”
Leila Deljkovic, Co-founder – Cropsy Technologies

“CIE’s Velocity programme enabled us to put our company strategy down on paper. We didn’t walk away with just seed funding. It helped us create the real basis for the company and to stress test it with judges and mentors. It’s surprising how much of it still holds true today.”
Phil Thomson, Co-founder – Auror

“You will always have a next big problem that will need a big solution. It’s not enough to have one good idea, you have to have many good ideas and work hard to transform them into solutions on the path to taking something from the lab to market. Going through CIE’s Velocity, I learned that you have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, and that still holds true.”
Dr Ninna Granucci, Founder and CEO – Greenspot Technologies

Read the full Velocity Challenge rules.

If you have questions about the programme, please contact cie_programmes@auckland.ac.nz

Applications open: Monday 7 April 2025 at midday
Applications close: Monday 12 May 2025 at midday

Ideas Challenge prize-giving on 22 May
Ideas Challenge judges' feedback on 28 May

Your idea could be the next big thing. Share it today and win!