BE Industrial Design Graduate wins prestigious EYE50 award

In May 2013 BE graduate Hollie Baigent (BIndDes 2012) was awarded winner of the Emerging Young Entrepreneur competition (EYE50) held at this years C2-MTL Conference in Montreal, Canada. Hollie's winning project, the Outreach Vaccine Backpack and Motorcycle Rack (VACCi Pak) proposes an affordable, sustainable, locally-sourced solution to the current shortcomings of international vaccine delivery systems. Visits to East Timor convinced her that something had to be done to reduce the country’s high mortality rate for children under the age of five. Subsequent research undertaken at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at UNSW led to her idea for a more efficient and cost-effective method of delivering vaccines.

When asked of her experience in winning the award Hollie says, “I didn’t at all expect to win. I wasn’t working on my product full-time like the other finalists. This is why it’s so life-changing, because now I see myself as an entrepreneur and want to be an entrepreneur. I’ve got good ideas, I foresee a future for my ideas. C2-MTL really brought this awareness to life, because you never know when you work on these things – you think it’s a good idea but it’s not until someone spots it and brings it to the global stage. C2-MTL kick-started my thinking of myself as an entrepreneur and moved me more into that space – now watch out!”

For more information on C2-MTL and Emerging Young Entrepreneur competition (EYE50) see here.