Vincent talks #SharksDen: Day 1

by Vincent Khau

Hey everyone!

My name is Vincent Khau, the newest recruit to join the ranks of Research Bazaar! I will be coming on board with the rest of the team as a Research Community Coordinator, working primarily with TinkerCAD and 3D printing, although some of you may recognise me during your #CADventures as one of Aliza’s minions for the Inventor 3D modelling course. I’ve completed my Bachelor of Science just last year, and am currently studying a Master of Engineering (Mechanical) at the University of Melbourne (so I’ll definitely be seen around campus a great deal!). Feelings about joining the community? EXCITED!

Recently I participated in the exciting Shark’s Den Challenge hosted by Research Platforms. If you are, like I was prior to the event, slightly afraid that this might be a gambling den populated by card sharks, let me reassure you by explaining what this event actually is. The Shark’s Den Challenge is an opportunity for technical enthusiasts, entrepreneurs-in-the-making, and innovators to meet new people, form teams, and get creative by designing a product (over consecutive Wednesdays) that they will be pitch to a panel on the 29th of July. Successful teams may have the opportunity to pursue their design with the Melbourne Accelerated Program (MAP)!

My aforementioned premonitions quickly dissipated with David and Paul’s warm hospitality, and with so many interesting and affable people to meet and talk to, the first event on the night was a quick 2 minute ‘speed dating’ of the 20+ crowd where we discussed our strengths and whether we saw ourselves fitting into CEO, CTO, CFO, or CMO roles. The participants who gave the best first impressions were then nominated as CEOs and the teams were picked for the upcoming weeks.

In these teams, we were confronted with the challenge of innovating on an invention which has been around since… well since forever really; the door. After coming up with prototype designs (a foam door with key-less entry and a 'quarantine zone’ that cleans you? What’s not to like!), we immediately started working on a pitch to present our design to the other teams (with CFOs taking frivolous notes as to who were our main competitors).

With an event that was so enjoyable, with so many fascinating ideas being shared, some teams even stayed well beyond the end of the event to continue discussing the next steps to their designs! It was truly an amazing experience to see the power of idea sharing at work, and I am really looking forward to next session on Wednesday 8th July. Can’t wait!

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