MedNexus Innovation Challenge 2022

For the second year in a row, a team from Flagler-Palm Coast High School walked away from the UNF MedNexus Innovation Challenge with the grand prize, a $1,000 scholarship for each team member.

This year’s theme was improving sleep quality for young adults. 

High school students from St. Johns, Flagler, and Volusia Counties were invited to apply for the Innovation Challenge. Up to five finalist teams were selected, and those students began work on a strategic business pitch deck to support their idea. The University of North Florida then provided a faculty member to the teams to mentor the students and provide feedback on their business model and pitch. Finally, the finalists had to make their “sales pitch” to a panel of judges, which occurred at Palm Coast City Hall on Wednesday night, November 16th.

“Redshield,” which was made up of FPC students Cameron Driggers and Roymara Louissaint pitched an idea for a screen protector for electronic devices which would block blue light and emit red light during sleeping hours. It was the winning idea and netted the two $1,000 each in scholarship money.

“Nudg3,” included FPC students Brandon Herrmann, Ryder McDowell, Savannah Miranda, and Kimora Sanchez came in second place. Their pitch was for an application that would make it easier to restrict screen time of young adults and encourage 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Each student was awarded a $750 scholarship prize.

And the third FPC team, “Sleeparium” earned the Audience Choice Award. Team members Glynnis Gong, Brendan Wang, Greyson Peugh, Chloe Long, and Nicholas Groth will each share a $1,000 scholarship prize. Their idea was a bedroom system designed to keep a person and their bedroom environment in ideal conditions to receive the best quality sleep.

The UNF MedNexus Innovation Challenge is a partnership between the Univesity of North Florida, the City of Palm Coast, and Flagler Schools. It’s an opportunity for high school students across our region to showcase their entrepreneurial spirit in tackling solutions to our state’s evolving healthcare needs.