The University of North Florida (UNF) MedNexus Innovation Challenge returned for a second year inside the Community Wing of Palm Coast’s City Hall on Wednesday, November 16th.
The University of North Florida (UNF) MedNexus Innovation Challenge returned for a second year inside the Community Wing of Palm Coast’s City Hall on Wednesday, November 16th.
The MedNexus Innovation Challenge, an event made possible through a partnership with UNF, the City of Palm Coast, and Flagler Schools, is a team-based entrepreneurship competition showcased top regional high school students tasked to pitch their solutions to Florida’s evolving healthcare needs. The areas of focus this year were sleep deprivation and improving sleep quality for young adults.
Five teams, with eighteen students, submitted applications and their ideas in hopes of joining the competition. The top five teams worked with and were mentored by UNF, business, and healthcare professionals. The event was live-streamed on the City of Palm Coast’s YouTube channel
The competition began with opening statements by Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, Superintendent of Flagler County Schools Cathy Middelstadt, and CEO of MedNexus Dr. David Szymanski.
Each team was given 7 minutes to pitch their ideas to the judges, followed by 3 -5 minutes of questions and answers. The judges for the competition were Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, Palm Coast Director of SCORE David Ferguson, Flagler County Economic Development Manager Delores Key, Advent Health Sim Center Manager Lee Wright, and Heidi Alves. The advanced television production class from Flagler Palm Coast High School volunteered to film the event.
“We are so thrilled to welcome back this incredible event for the second year in a row,” Mayor Alfin said. “These five teams of students represent our incredibly bright and motivated young minds right here in Palm Coast. Congratulations again to the winners and to all who participated!”
Pitch Team Summaries and Winning Teams:
RedShield - First Place Winner: A screen protector for electronic devices that blocks blue light and emits red light during “bedtime” hours.
Flagler Palm Coast High School: Cameron Driggers, Roymara Louissaint
Nudg3 – Second Place Winner: An application that makes it easier to restrict screen time for young adults.
Flagler Palm Coast High School: Brandon Herrmann, Ryder McDowell, Savannah Miranda, Kimora Sanchez.
Sleeparium – Winner of the Audience Choice Award: Bedroom system designed to keep a user and their environment in ideal conditions to receive the best quality sleep.
Flagler Palm Coast High School: Glynnis Gong, Brendan Wang, Greyson Peugh, Chloe Long, Nicholas Groth
SleepNext: An application that surveys your habits and provides solutions to your sleeping problems by linking users to treatments that promote better sleep.
Allen D. Nease High School & Beachside High School: Kyle Bae, Shiven Neelkant, Daniel Kurian, Aditya Yellapragada, Jay Dalvi
Tozy Pillow: A pillow that adapts to user’s sleeping positions to maximize comfort and features a tactile alarm system, cooling gel technology, and more, in order to encourage healthy sleeping habits.
Allen D. Nease High School: Anthony Bismi, Miles Moerman
The top two winning teams and the team who won the Audience Choice Award were all awarded scholarship money to further their education. Each member of the second-place team won $750; each member of the first-place team won $1,000, and the team selected for the Voters Choice Award won $1,000.
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