St. John’s, NL — From March 12–28, students from across the College of the North Atlantic came together virtually to innovate, collaborate, and pitch bold solutions to some of the province’s  most pressing sustainability challenges. The event, econext‘s first-ever virtual ideathon, challenged participants to think creatively and develop sustainable solutions to real-world problems.

Top Placing Teams

First Place Winners
Hydro Heroes (Keenan Crawley, Breanna Seward, Nathan Cave, and Dyana)  took home first place for their concept that focuses on biogas production as a clean, renewable energy alternative for the seafood industry, reducing waste and emissions in one of Atlantic Canada’s most vital sectors.

Second Place Winners
Best Kind Solutions (Ashley Hoskins, Corvin Greenham, and Ethan Lane) earned second place with their idea centered on lithium-ion battery recycling. Their proposal aimed to minimize environmental harm while promoting sustainable practices within the rapidly growing tech industries.

Third Place Winners
Earth Advocates (Victoria Osmond, Amber Chippett, Claire Bombis, and Bethany Roberts) took third place with the introduction of Trash for Tokens, a mobile app that encourages waste reduction by rewarding users for recycling, while also supporting local businesses.

“We really enjoyed opening up the challenge theme to let students explore what they were passionate about,” said Chelsea Linfield, Project Finance Manager with econext. “That flexibility sparked a lot of creativity and led to some really innovative ideas we might not have seen otherwise.”

Alex Rumbolt, econext‘s Business Sustainability Lead who also helped lead the event, agreed. “The ideas from the students were incredible. Even though it was virtual, the collaboration and enthusiasm felt just as strong as any in-person event. It allowed us to connect with students across the province.”

econext extends sincere thanks to all its partners, mentors and judges who helped make the first virtual ideathon a success. econext would also like to thank its sponsor, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Credit Union, for supporting this event and helping students explore opportunities in the green economy.

This ideathon was made possible through partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), and with support from the Government of Canada.

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About econext
econext is a not-for-profit association with a mission to accelerate clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador by: (1) stimulating research, development, and innovation; (2) preparing its workforce for a greening economy; and (3) acting as a catalyst for climate change action within its industries, businesses, and communities. econext has been working for over 30 years on behalf of its members across many sectors to support environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.

About BHER
The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that brings together Canada’s top businesses and post-secondary institutions. BHER works to strengthen partnerships, expand work-integrated learning opportunities, and drive innovation. Learn more at www.bher.ca.

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