RISE Showcase 2025-26
About RISE
RISE (Real Impact on Society and Environment) supports students in developing their ideas for social enterprise. It can be difficult to take innovation beyond small-scale, local implementation and into something bigger. RISE helps students to realise their goals and create a global impact. The programme provides access to an international audience of potential supporters – people just like you.
New for 2026 – People’s Choice Award
This year we have introduced a People’s Choice element to the judging categories to allow staff, students and members of the public the chance to vote on the most innovative RISE project. Please note, voting is now closed for the People’s Choice Award.
The 4 prize categories for the 2026 are:
- Most Potential (Judge determined)
- Most Collaborative (Judge determined)
- Most Impact (Judge determined)
- People’s Choice Award for Innovation
Winners of each of the 4 prize categories will receive $2000(USD) seed funding to further develop their project.
Abbis
Henrik Pajunen, Antti Tuovio, Rebecka Nygård and Simon Nars
Abbis delivers accessible preventive pet care through early-detection and intervention with a scalable veterinary partner platform.
#Preventive Healthcare #One Health #Detect, Prevent, Predict #Early detection #Health Innovation and Research
Agrolitik
Li An Yong, Yi Wern Tsui and Jone LungTan
National University of Singapore
Agrolitik gives smallholder farmers affordable soil and crop intelligence so they fertilise smarter, waste less, and harvest more.
#Soil Intelligence #Zero Waste Farming #Yield Optimisation #Accessible AgriTech #Fertiliser Intelligence
Llüp
Patroo Matsimela and Lethabo Maganyele
We collect plastic waste, and manufacture ergonomic multi functional handles, out of that recycled plastic.
#Recycled #Plastic #Manufacture #Ergonomic #Handle
Remarkably
Jonathan Au Yeung and Harry Wu
National University of Singapore
Remarkably is an AI grading platform that delivers private-tutor-quality essay feedback to every student, freeing teachers from manual marking and closing the inequality gap in education.
#AI grading #Education equity #Teacher burnout #Handwriting recognition #Personalised feedback
Potastic
Rioana Mano Thankaraj and Ishwari Mohod
Starch based biodegradable bioplastic mailers created from surplus potatoes to replace conventional plastic"
#Repurpose #Biodegradable #Eco-friendly #Potatoes #Packaging
The Closet
Maša Urbanija and Edda Manteufel
The Closet transforms ownership into access through a peer to peer rental platform, where users rent needed outfits and lend items they rarely wear.
#Mindful consumption #Fashion rental #Empowerment
Sohbatpur Floods - SDGs in Action
Saima Khan
A cross-disciplinary, flood response initiative integrating community-led education, water sustainability, and climate resilience through lived experience, emotional engagement, and faith-based ethics.
#Climate Resilience #Community-Led Education #Water Sustainability #Collaborations #Faith-Based Ethics
Zayl
Paul Marvier
Zayl is a real-time carpooling app that instantly connects drivers already on the road with nearby passengers, making shared mobility a daily reflex in underserved suburban areas.
#Real-time carpooling #Sustainable mobility #Suburban transport #Shared economy
T-Rise
Gaia Gentile
T-RISE is a translational biotech initiative developing CRISPR-engineered Treg therapies to promote immune tolerance as an alternative to chronic immunosuppression.
#Immunomodulation #CRISPR #Regulatory T Cells #Transplantation #Translational Biotechnology
Swipe Dining
Sean Howard
Swipe Dining is a free mobile app that helps university students safely navigate dining halls by filtering menus around their allergies, dietary restrictions, and medical conditions.
#Allergies #Nutrition #Dining #Equity #Universities
La Raíz
Josefa Oyarce, Rocío Cornejo, Katherina Hoffmann, Tamara Salinas, Matías Briceño and Martín Araya
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
A student-led sustainability movement that reconnects vulnerable urban communities with nature through environmental education, resilience, and circular action initiatives.
#Environmental Education #Community Resilience #Circular Economy #Youth Engagement"
Trabajos De Invierno
Max Burr Capurro, Macarena Cruz De las Heras Barros, Trinidad Isidora De la Maza Lepe, Javiera Paz Larrain Morales, Jorge Vicente Pérez Villalobos and Matías Ignacio Retamales Ibarra
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
A student-led social innovation initiative that combats rural poverty in southern Chile through sustainable community infrastructure and transformative volunteer leadership.
#Poverty Alleviation #Community Empowerment #Sustainable Development #Student Leadership #Social Innovation
Paverley
Saoirse Chu, Oscar Prien, Sunghoon Kim and Xiaohan Shen
Paverley is a pedestrian-focused navigation tool that enables users to customise their route, achieve local discounts and connect with their community to better enjoy their footpaths.
#Active transport #Sustainability #Route optimisation
Remote Area Medical
Aryaan Duggal and Malini Raghu
RAM UMD is transforming student-led healthcare advocacy into measurable community impact; bringing free medical, dental, and vision care to underserved populations across the US East Coast and beyond.
#Healthcare access #Student-led advocacy #Free clinics #Health equity #Community health
STEM up
Jehan Idsassi, Maha Idsassi, Aya El-Natour, Haliyat Durosinmi, Rehan Tadesse, Tasnim Alhamwi and Nour Al Zamil
STEM Up empowers girls and young women from underserved communities through free, sustained STEM education, mentorship, and hands-on opportunity.
#Girls in STEM #STEM education equity #Youth empowerment #Mentorship #International outreach
Padiki Green Systems
Leeroy Magora and Florence Kurewa
Padiki Green Systems tackles climate-affected agriculture and youth unemployment in Zimbabwe by offering affordable, climate-resilient greenhouses with a Pay-As-You-Grow model that enables youth to farm productively on small plots.
#Climate-affected agriculture #youth unemployment #Climate-resilient greenhouse
Literatura Solidaria
Audrey Florencia De la Torre Moreno and Daniela Ivett García Zapata
Literatura Solidaria promotes disability inclusion through children’s books that foster empathy, representation, and awareness from an early age.
#Inclusion #Empathy #Representation #Children’s Literature #Social Impact
VIME FIBER
Iván Alexander Vivas Medina and Julio César Vivas Medina
VIME FIBER transforms natural waste into biodegradable seedling pots that reduce plastic use and support healthy ecosystems.
#Sustainable #Biodegradable #Scalable #Bio-based #Low-cost
SDG Symposium
Charline Hui, Selena Saeed, Maryam Masood, Sarah McEvilly and Judi Eppele
University of California, Davis
The SDG Symposium addresses the lack of awareness surrounding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through tabling, panels, and poster presentations, while also developing the capacity of attendees to pursue actionable change around the goals in their current and future work.
#Sustainability #Education #Engagement #Global #Local
AgroPower
Lina Chzhan, Yanying Annicia Hui and Junha Lee
AgroPower Solutions deploys solar-powered, digitally traceable cold storage hubs along Angola’s Lobito corridor to cut post-harvest loss, boost smallholder incomes, and connect farmers to verified domestic and export markets.
#Resilient #Farmer-centric #Catalytic #Data-driven #Climate-smart
MediBuddy
Heeeun Bang, Jiwon Lee, Yeryeong Han, and Zarina Atageldiyeva
MediBuddy project' aims to create a world where no one is left isolated in front of healthcare simply because of language or location.
#Healthcare #Accessibility #Equality #Globalization #Communication
Craft
Shun Ting Lo, Guan Bo Lee and Tin Yan Yuen
CraftscapeHK is a digital ecosystem that leverages AI and AR to bridge global travelers with Hong Kong's heritage artisans, transforming traditional crafts into interactive, sustainable livelihoods.
#Heritage #Artisanship #Co-Creation #Sustainability #Innovation
Beyond the Classroom
Sabrina Speckman, Karma Hilbert and Rodrigo Becara Silva
University of California, Davis
UC Davis students provide English learning activities and presentations to kids in Colombia who have faced academic setbacks due to medical conditions.
#English education #Youth empowerment #Experimental learning #Global service #Cross cultural exchange
GELORA
Amir Fren Afrizal, Rahma Alya Nabila Damayanti, Fa'iq Al-Baihaqi, Muhammad Lathif Adani and Muhammad Zulfa Azizi
GELORA is a community-based waste management innovation developed by students of Universitas Gadjah Mada that provides a portable household-scale incinerator with controlled high-temperature combustion, eco-friendly two-layer filtration, and real-time monitoring technology, which has been laboratory-tested under Indonesian Ministry of Health standards to reduce household waste, minimize harmful emissions, improve public health, and support cleaner and more sustainable communities in Indonesia.
#Community-Based Waste Management #Portable Incinerator #Eco-Friendly Technology #Emission Reduction Technology #Sustainable Innovation."
ORSIDE
Heironymus Damar Jati Danisworo, Tyasadwi Bumi, Fatimah Islamia, Aurelius Galih Arkananta and Hikmat Sejati
ORSIDE is a portable, non-invasive oral pre-cancerous lesion screening device that combines optical fluorescence technology with CNN-based artificial intelligence to support fast, accurate, and affordable early oral cancer detection in primary healthcare settings.
#Optical Fluorescence #Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) #Early Oral Cancer Detection #Pre-Cancerous Lesions #Portable Medical Device.
Termzy AI
Giulio Pavesi
A browser extention that instantly finds, reads and analyses the contracts you agree to online.
#Browser extension #AI, #terms and conditions #Legaltech #Privacy policies
Verdé Athleisure
Unothando Qhinebe
Verdé Athleisure is a sustainable activewear brand creating stylish, comfortable, and eco-friendly clothing for conscious consumers.
#Sustainable #Stylish #Comfortable #Innovative #Purpose-driven
Walk With Your Community: A Community-Based Health Intervention
Asiya Falak, Caitlin Fredericks, Dalton Grimes , Victoria Lynch, Jona Kerluku and Jocelyn Chen
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
This is a pilot program aimed to promote health literacy, physical activity, and social connection through community-driven park walks and presentations by medical students.
#Sustainability #Preventative health, #Health literacy #Community
Kadakaaman - Iniciativa Solar para el Agua y la Comunidad
David Arellano Ceballos
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Building community-owned solar infrastructure to produce fresh water and green hydrogen for an isolated coastal municipality in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
#Solar #Water #Energy #Community