06 November 2014
Using emerging technology to tackle retail crime, and being able to collect and securely store evidence using a mobile device, are the big ideas that have secured funding of $50,000 each for two University of South Australia student start-up business projects.
Venture Catalyst, a program developed through partnership between the State Government and UniSA, designed to help UniSA students and recent graduates turn their business ideas into reality, is providing the first seed funding grants of $50,000 each for the two projects: myEvidence and Project Portcullis.
myEvidence is a mobile device app which will facilitate the collection of digital evidence for investigations, which will be held either through a secure cloud platform or on police held servers.
Tung Tran, who is undertaking a graduate diploma in aviation at UniSA, and is a Senior Constable with South Australia Police, says he designed the app with the aim of increasing the efficiency of investigations, from the crime scene to the court room.
“I want myEvidence to succeed because of the huge benefits it has for all types of investigations. I sought funding from Venture Catalyst to further the product but also to have access to the mentoring and support from my university. I feel honoured to be awarded the funding,” Tran says.
Jordan Green, of Jemsoft, explained how funding will help develop Project Portcullis.
"The project currently dubbed ‘project portcullis’ is an intelligent security solution leveraging hardware and software components mixed with an array of emerging technologies to mitigate the risk of armed holdup in high risk retail environments," Green says.
“The main point of difference in comparison to existing solutions is that our solution stops the door from opening before the offender enters the premises, without inhibiting the customer's retail experience.”
UniSA Vice Chancellor, Professor David Lloyd says the awarding of the first grants under the Venture Catalyst program can only encourage more students to want to develop their own innovative ideas.
“This program is designed to support the kind of creativity and innovation we know we have in our student community and to encourage the development of great ideas,” Prof Lloyd says.
“A big congratulations to the two first recipients; this is their first big step into a new enterprise.
“Our partnership with the State Government, through Venture Catalyst, is aimed at developing innovative concepts into practical products and services. It is also about developing a culture of excellence and endeavour.
“The investment we are making together is one that rewards individuals’ innovations but also has the potential to bring ongoing benefits to the wider community and the state.”
Media Contact
Will Venn office (08) 8302 0096 email will.venn@unisa.edu.au
