Jacinda Ardern signs MoU with Monash Uni for business program

A Monash University program to support businesses to develop innovative new products has a powerful new advocate – the NZ prime minister.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern signed the memorandum of understanding at Monash University on Tuesday.

Monash University’s program to promote innovation in the consumer goods and services industry has reached the ears of New Zealanders – so much so that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited the campus on Tuesday to sign an agreement for New Zealand companies to take part.

Under the memorandum of understanding five companies – whose products include food, health care, eco-friendly cleaning products, and specialty design and manufacturing – will join Monash’s 10-week New Frontiers Innovation Program. They hope to emerge with a ready-to-go business plan to launch their product in the Australian market.

The NFIP, which is designed to help small and medium enterprises develop new products and services, is run by Monash Food Innovation, a unit set up in 2016 to support consumer goods innovation.

It was initially focused on the food and beverage industry but now ranges into industries with similar challenges. It is designed to start with the seed of an idea and take it to commercialisation.

“It’s a methodology for success in bringing fast-moving consumer goods to life,” said Rod Heath, business development manager (education and industry) for Monash Food Innovation.

In the program each the five New Zealand companies will supply two executives, who will each work with five Monash students, on the particular issues facing each company.

They will work together for 10 weeks in the structured online program, but also meet for a one week bootcamp at Monash University in September.

Sam Bridgewater, co-founder and director of The Pure Food company which is one of the five in the program, said it was “an incredible opportunity to build our pipeline and create one ready-to-go concept for the Australian market”.

A key part of the NFIP is the participation of Monash undergraduate students who gain valuable real-world experience in working with businesses on new products. Five third year students, each coming from different faculties of the university, will work with two company executives during the ten-week program and one-week bootcamp.

Mr Heath said the students were deliberately chosen from different faculties to bring a full range of perspectives to the problems being solved.

The five New Zealand companies taking part in the program are:

• Ecostore: Plant based, eco-friendly cleaning products

• Tom & Luke: Healthy and natural snack balls

• The Pure Food Co: Food service offering texture modified meals to aged care

• Blunt: Combining engineering with beautiful design and currently selling umbrellas

• Midlands Nutrition: Premium plant-based nutritional oils and superfood manufacturers.