2020 Innovation Blues award winners named

Blues Awards are a university tradition that originated in England. The blue colours of Oxford and Cambridge universities came to symbolise sporting excellence, and the tradition migrated to New Zealand where many universities have adopted the recognition and reward system.

At the University of Auckland, Blues Awards have evolved to recognise excellence in other fields such as Arts and Culture, Service and Leadership, and, as of 2019, Innovation.

This year, there were nine Innovation Awards recipients, including the overall Innovation category award winner, Taylor Grey, founder of Radic Performance.

Taylor will have his name added to the bespoke illuminated Innovation Award trophy that was made at the University’s innovation hub and maker space, which will now be an icon of excellence in innovation at the University of Auckland. Taylor will also attend a celebratory dinner with the University’s Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor.

Innovation Blues Awards applications were reviewed by a panel of senior University of Auckland staff. Finalists were chosen for an outstanding achievement in innovation that had created or enhanced a product, process or system which provides an effective solution to a challenging issue.

This could have been in a social, environmental, technological or commercial context. Applications came from students of all study disciplines for an astonishing variety of achievements.

Director of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Wendy Kerr, says, “The world needs innovative and entrepreneurial talent now more than ever. It’s wonderful to see these attributes and capabilities formally recognised through such a prestigious University award."

2020 Innovation Blue recipients

Overall winner – Taylor Grey – founder of Radic Performance

Commerce student Taylor co-founded Radic Performance, the first company in the world dedicated to designing and manufacturing 3D-printed mountain bike brakes, all proudly made in New Zealand. Taylor saw there was little to no development using 3D printing technology within the mountain biking and motorbiking industry. He started the company to fill this gap, bringing cutting-edge technologies into their design and manufacturing processes to create the highest-performance products on the market.

Caterina Barton – National League Case Competition, Global Microfinance Case Competition, and EY Corporate Finance Woman of the Year Competition

Commerce and Arts student Caterina and her team placed second in the 2019 National League Case Competition and first in the New Zealand round of the 2019 Global Microfinance Case Competition. Caterina was also a member of the team representing the University of Auckland in the 2019 EY Corporate Finance Woman of the Year Competition, coming first in the New Zealand round and second in the Oceania round.

Connor McDowall – Chulalongkorn International Business Case Competition

Commerce and Engineering student Connor was a member of the University of Auckland team that took part in the 2019 Chulalongkorn International Business Case Competition. Twenty-one teams from across the globe competed in Thailand, with the University of Auckland team winning their pool and going on to place third in the finals.

George Liu – SBS National League Case Competition

Commerce and Law student George competed in the SBS National League Case Competition, with his team winning third place, answering the question, ‘How can Christchurch Airport be the champion airport of the South Island, to increase profit to $113m by 2025?’

Jordan Parratt – UBC Sauder International Real Estate Case Competition

Property and Law student Jordan represented the University of Auckland at the UBC Sauder International Real Estate Case Competition in Vancouver, Canada. As team captain, he led the team to first place in a three-day competition.

Paul Rassie, Sasha Mates, Vincent Wong – My Auto Shop

The Engineering and Commerce student co-founders of My Auto Shop, a website allowing users to review and compare options for servicing their car, taking into consideration factors such as price, location, and ability to service their particular model of car. The website enables easy and convenient pick-up, with users able to have their car picked up from their home or office and taken to their selected workshop. My Auto Shop is now the biggest online mechanic booking platform in New Zealand.

Tribhuvan Krishnan – Business Case Competitions

Commerce and Science student Tribhuvan was a member of the University of Auckland team at the 2019 University of Sydney Business Case Competition. Competing against other universities from around Australia and New Zealand, the team reached the final round and was awarded first place, being named the Trans-Tasman champions.