Deadline: 12-Jul-23
Are you an Australian-based ocean science academic with a burning passion to develop solutions that tackle challenges facing the ocean and broader environment? If yes, then apply for the Ocean Impact Ideation Program 2023!
The Ocean Impact Ideation Program (OIIP) 2023 is targeted at early-stage ocean academics (late-stage PhD candidates to three years post-PhD) with a burning passion to develop solutions that tackle the great challenges facing the ocean and broader environment.
Program participants are provided with the foundations needed to combine startup thinking with ocean research projects, and possibly launch an ocean impact startup in the future.
Themes
- Ocean Health: Eg. Ecosystem protection & restoration, Waste management & recycling, Circular economy, Alternative materials, Agricultural practices, Urban development, Blue financing, Sustainable tourism, Ocean sports & activities.
- Ocean Harvesting: Eg. Traditional fisheries & aquaculture, Smart fishing gear, Supply chain digitisation, Regenerative aquaculture, Aquaculture digitisation, Waste reduction, Fish feed replacements, Ocean farming, Lab-grown seafood.
- Transport and Security: Eg. Alternative fuels & ship design, Electrification of boats, Increased ports efficiency, Improved security & goods transparency, Container digitisation, Decarbonisation of vessels.
- Ocean Energy: Eg. Harnessing renewable energy from the ocean to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Wave energy, Tidal energy from currents or ranges, Ocean thermal energy using temperature variations to create energy, Solutions to increase the supply & demand for ocean energy.
- New Frontiers: Eg. Large scale seaweed farming, Marine bio solutions and products, Marine biomimicry, Ocean exploration, Underwater robotics, IOT for oceans, Offshore renewable energy aquaculture, Floating cities.
- Leisure and Inspiration: Eg. Increasing ocean literacy, Virtual and augmented reality, Sustainable tourism, Ocean accessibility, Mainstream media projects, Improving impacts of sports and leisure.
Eight Modules to Set you up for Success
- Entrepreneurship and Ideation: In the first session, they’ll go over what the entrepreneurial journey looks like and show you how to go about coming up with ideas.
- Ocean Impact Themes: They’ll delve into the key ocean impact themes to lay the foundations for coming up with a viable startup idea.
- Startup Opportunities and Ideation: Need some ideas? In this module, they’ll highlight trends and areas that are ripe for disruption.
- Customer Research and Crafting a Value Proposition: It’s important to filter out the best ideas and test your assumptions by conducting effective customer research.
- Legal and Accounting: They’ll cover the important legal and accounting considerations to set you up for future success.
- Financials and Funding: In this session they’ll make sure you understand the various funding options available and how to navigate the numbers.
- Launching a Startup and Becoming Investor Ready: They’ll help you plot out a plan for launching your ocean impact startup, and how to prepare to approach potential investors.
- Elevator Pitches and Graduation!: In this final session they hone the elevator pitches and recap the key learnings from the previous sessions.
What is the Ocean Impact Ideation Program?
- This program focuses on turning individuals into oceanpreneurs. They’ll set you up with the foundations you’ll need to launch an ocean impact startup.
- 100% Online: Eight group sessions are delivered via video link over the eight-week sprint to show you how to identify opportunities, come up with ideas, and test them out.
- Live and Interactive: They strike a balance between providing vital knowledge and teaching you the processes needed to found a startup.
- Delivered by an Experienced Team: Delivered by a team with the expertise to help you efficiently and effectively identify and test areas of opportunity.
- Valuable Connections: Only a small group of talented individuals will be offered a spot in Ocean Impact Ideation, all of which you’ll get to know by the end of the program.
Benefits
- The benefits of this program extend broadly beyond the participants to include:
- Ocean, coastal and marine environments and wildlife populations through new technologies and approaches to improve ocean health
- Communities that will benefit from improved ocean health and new commercial enterprises/ industries
- Businesses and industries that may benefit from or acquire new technologies
- Philanthropists seeking impact donation opportunities
- Investors seeking impact investment opportunities
- Governments pursuing improvements to ocean health and increased innovation and export opportunities
- Marine institutions and organisations who can ‘up-skill’ staff and students and acquire new knowledge
Program Costs
- The program has been fully funded by the generous support of OIO’s corporate and philanthropic partners. Successful applicants will be provided with a free scholarship valued at $2,000 pp.
What they’re Looking for?
- During the selection process, they will assess your application against three key areas:
- Skill – Do you have problem-solving capabilities or a specific skill/experience that you can leverage to create a unique offering?
- Spirit – Are you driven, persistent, disciplined, comfortable with ambiguity and not afraid to take calculated risks?
- Hustle – Can you find a way to get something done in an unconventional way? Could you convince someone to trial your product for the first time?
Eligibility Criteria
- The OIIP 2023 is open to Australian-based ocean science academics from late-stage PhD candidates to three years post-PhD.
For more information, visit Ocean Impact Organisation.