Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University On-Campus Competition 2021/2022

University News | March 24, 2022

Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University has cultivated brilliant student entrepreneurs since 2015. The 2021/2022 installment of this university student competition was met with new challenges and new minds in the pursuit of solutions to global sustainability problems. The final round was held on February 19, 2022; team YUMMYCHOICE won the first place.


Taking place at Ezohub Sapporo on February 19, 2021, the 2021/2022 final is the second online-offline hybrid competition for Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University. The offline participants followed strict COVID-19 regulations. (Photo by Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University)


This year’s competition marks the seventh consecutive year of this prestigious student competition, managed by the Hokkaido University chapter of Hult Prize. Each year, student competitors are challenged to design business ideas dealing to a certain theme determined by the Hult Prize Foundation. Seeing the significant number of global job losses due to COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021/2022 call-to-action was “Getting the World Back to Work.”


“This year’s call-to-action corresponds to SDGs 8th goal: Decent Work and Economic Growth. However, we encouraged the participating teams not to be fixated on this topic, but to incorporate other SDG(s),” explained Gaurab Das Mahapatra (Graduate School of Engineering), the director of Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University On-Campus Competition 2021/2022.


The final competition was preceded by an online kick-off event and a 2-day incubation program which took place at Hokkaido University’s FMI (Food and Medical Innovation) building. In both events, participants gained knowledge, materials, and networks that helped them in constructing their ideas. Attendants of the pre-events received training from experts on sustainability and practitioners of sustainable business, including past participants of the on-campus competitions whose businesses are growing and thriving.


A workshop during the incubation program by Floatmeal, the winner of Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University On-Campus Competition 2020/2021. (Photo by Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University)


Part of the incubation program, the “Elevator Pitch Session” was led by Gabil Aliyev, the co-founder of 2Gaijin who won Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University On-Campus Competition 2019. (Photos by Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University)


Held at Ezohub Sapporo building, the finals gathered 7 teams, each consisting of around 3-4 students of differing backgrounds. Every team presented their business plans, their motivation and how their business plan can resolve the presented challenge. Based on the assessments by the global judges, team YUMMYCHOICE ended up receiving the first prize. 


Team YUMMYCHOICE members are 3 graduate students: Vikas Verma (Graduate School of Engineering), Liuhui Yang (Graduate School of Education), and Deepti Sharma (Graduate School of Engineering). Their team had only been formed after having met at the incubation program. United by their concern with the environmental impact caused by wooden disposable chopsticks, they chose this problem as the focus of their business idea.


“Research showed that around 80 billion disposable chopsticks are being used annually at the cost of 20 million trees, which is why we came up with the idea of edible chopsticks fortified with vitamins,” said Vikas, representing his team. “Our production model design consists of 1 manufacturing unit handled by 90 people. Through exponential growth, it could employ over 2,000 people by 2024.”


“Within less than two months, we rigorously developed a simple prototype of the chopsticks using a home kitchen. It was not easy to formulate the perfect recipe as we intended, but in the end, it paid off. The seed money prize will be very advantageous for our further development,” added Vikas.


Team YUMMYCHOICE, left to right: Deepti Sharma, Vikas Verma, and Liuhui Yang. (Photo by Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University)


Team YUMMYCHOICE is not the only team who will go through the regional summit. The first runner-up is team FISHIONS, a team of 4 students: Kenta Sasaki, Madoka Ono, Yuta Jozawa (Faculty Faculty of Fisheries Sciences) and Pratik Prashanta Biswas (Graduate School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering). The second runner-up is team G-OLD, a team of 4 students from the Graduate School of Engineering: Yannick Oliveira, Louis Yon, Sudeshna Chakraborty, and Yumi Nakano.


The three winning teams are automatically eligible to go through one of the regional summits, Taipei and Melbourne summits, however other teams will also be given a second opportunity to seize the chance to enter the regional summit. The regional manager of the East and South-East Asia Region of Hult Prize 2021/2022 competition is Sangeetha Ratnayake (Graduate School of Information Science and Technology), who is none other than the campus director of the previous consecutive two on-campus competitions in Hokkaido University.


The organizing team with the judges. (Photo by Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University)


“Participating as either committee member or competitor will expand your horizons. You will learn not just about entrepreneurship, but—through intercultural interactions—you also learn how to practice foreign languages, experience different cultures, and learn about sustainability,” said Gaurab, encouraging Hokkaido University students to take part in Hult Prize’s future events.


Learn more about Hult Prize @ Hokkaido University:

Website: https://oncampus.hultprize.org/hokkaidouniversity

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hphokkaidouni

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hphokkaidouni

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokkaidouni/


Written by Aprilia Agatha Gunawan



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