NUS CDE students working with technology

21 October 2026

CDE Innovation Day 2026

From Spark to Impact.

Countdown to the Finale

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About the day

From Spark to Impact:
Where bold ideas come to life

The College of Design and Engineering, NUS (CDE) warmly invites you to CDE Innovation Day, a showcase of bold ideas, emerging technologies, and student-led solutions with the potential to shape tomorrow. Every breakthrough begins as a spark, and after months of innovation challenges, workshops, and venture-building, our finalist teams take the stage to present their final pitches and prototypes. Beyond the competitions, discover the innovation pathways and programmes across CDE, connect with like-minded peers, and join a growing innovation community. Come experience the energy, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of CDE and see for yourself how a spark becomes impact.

3

Innovation Tracks

$300K+

Funding Support

20+

Innovation & Technical Workshops

Culture of Innovation

Nurture an innovation and entrepreneurship culture across CDE and the wider NUS community.

Three-Track Challenge

Engage students, researchers, and faculty through IDEATE, EUREKA, and IMPACT - each tuned to a stage of the journey.

Idea → Venture Pipeline

Structured progression from idea generation to validated proof-of-concept, translational research, and venture creation.

Connected Community

Build a sustainable, connected innovation community linking students, researchers, founders, investors and industry.

The Innovation Challenge

Three tracks.
One pipeline

The CDE Innovation Challenge is staged so every student, researcher, and venture meets the right rigour at the right time - from first idea, to feasibility, to translation.

01

IDEATE

TRL < 2

Year 1–2 Undergraduates

Focus

Problem discovery, idea generation, maker culture

Students explore meaningful challenges, develop user insights, and propose creative solutions. Emphasis on cultivating curiosity, problem specification, a strong maker mindset, and the foundational technical skills to bring ideas to life.

02

EUREKA

TRL 2–3

Year 3–4 Undergraduates, NOC Students

Focus

Proof-of-concept & feasibility

Teams advance promising ideas by developing prototypes, testing key assumptions, and demonstrating early feasibility. Emphasis on engineering rigour, iterative design, and evidence-based validation.

03

IMPACT

TRL ≥ 3

Undergraduates, Graduate Students & Researchers (with PI support)

Focus

Research translation, IP, venture creation

Participants advance technically grounded research outputs towards real-world deployment - refining prototypes, conducting rigorous lab-based validation, and identifying translatable IP. Emphasis on accessing startup potential.

Registration closed

Prize Pool

Win more than
recognition

Track winners walk away with funded prize pools and i³ Incubation at NUS Enterprise, structured to take your prototype from competition win to working venture.

IDEATE

TRL < 2

Problem discovery, idea generation, maker culture.

Prize

$10,000

Build & Launch Grant

1st · $10K
2nd · $2K
3rd · $1K

Plus

i³ Incubation

EUREKA

TRL 2–3

Develop and validate working prototypes.

Prize

$10,000

Build & Launch Grant

Top 3 · $10K each

Plus

i³ Incubation

IMPACT

TRL ≥ 3

Translate research into market-ready solutions.

Prize

Up to $150,000

Funding support

1st · $150K
2nd · $100K
3rd · $50K

Plus

i³ Incubation

CDE Innovation Day 2026

The Finalists

21 October 2026 · From Spark to Impact

IMPACT Track

Scale The Venture · Up to $150,000 funding support · Top 5, in no particular order

Alkemi

EmerStat

HydraCool

MetaSen

Morphix

EUREKA Track

Build The Solution · Top 3 receive $10,000 each · Top 5, in no particular order

Beach Boys

Coolah

InOS

LingXiang Robotics

PacKind

The road to 21 October

The 2026 timeline

From challenge launch to the pitch and showcase - nine checkpoints across the year. Dates are subject to change; full details will be shared closer to date.

1

End-May

EUREKA / IMPACT Launch

Applications open for the EUREKA and IMPACT tracks.

2

July

IDEATE Launch

Applications open for the IDEATE track for Year 1–2 undergraduates.

3

14 Aug

Registration Deadline

Registration closes across IDEATE, EUREKA and IMPACT.

4

19 Aug

Innovation Mindset Workshop

Compulsory for all participants. Lectures, panels, and founder sharing.

5

2 Sept

Submission Deadline

Final proposals due across all three tracks.

6

15 Sept

Finalists Announced

Shortlisted teams notified across IDEATE / EUREKA / IMPACT.

7

21–25 Sept

Technical Workshop

Optional skill-building sessions to sharpen prototypes and submissions.

8

8 Oct

Pitching Workshop

Pitch coaching ahead of the main event - structure, storytelling, demo prep.

9

21 Oct

Innovation Day Pitch & Showcase

The main event. Live pitches, exhibition floor, and the awards ceremony.

CDE Innovation Day 2026

Featured Speakers

Founders and leaders who turned ideas into ventures that shape the region.

21 October 2026 · From Spark to Impact

Lim Wai Mun

Founder & CEO, Doctor Anywhere

1

Keynote Speaker

Mr. Lim Wai Mun is the founder and CEO of Doctor Anywhere (DA), a pioneering tech-driven healthcare company.

Before founding DA in 2017, his career was rooted in finance and investment. He held investment roles in Standard Chartered Private Equity and Temasek Holdings.

Leveraging the investment background, Mr. Lim has driven DA’s rapid expansion to serve over 3.0 million users across Southeast Asia, revolutionising healthcare accessibility and successfully venturing into the insurtech space.

Recognised for DA’s high-growth trajectory by Financial Times and LinkedIn, and named EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Singapore, Mr. Lim’s leadership is actively defining the standards for accessible, integrated healthcare in the region.

3.0M+ users across SEAEY Entrepreneur of the Yeardoctoranywhere.com→

Roy Ang

CEO & Co-founder, Stryv

2

Keynote Speaker

Roy Ang is the CEO and co-founder of Stryv, one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brands. Driven by a mission to deliver high-quality, scientifically backed personal care without bloated markups, Roy has scaled Stryv into a regional powerhouse spanning dozens of retail outlets, thousands of distribution touchpoints, and hundreds of thousands of households across Asia-Pacific.

Under his leadership, Stryv has secured backing from premier venture capital firms, as well as founders and investment arms of tech giants including Carousell, Carro, Grab, and Razer.

A seasoned tech executive and growth strategist, Roy spent over four years at Grab, where he was instrumental in building and scaling its Financial Services division. He began his career in banking before joining tech media platform e27, where he helped drive Asia’s startup and conference ecosystem. A lifelong learner, Roy is currently pursuing an MSc in Engineering Design and Innovation at the National University of Singapore.

Backed by founders of Carro, Shopback, Carousell, Prism+ and RazerMSc EDI, NUSstryv.com→

2024 Winners - Now Building

From the stage,
to incorporation

Past Innovation Day winners didn't just walk away with prizes - they walked into pilots with DSTA and LTA, partnerships with EDB and CapVista, and rounds with global investors. Click any card to read the founder's story.

IMPACT - Winner

IncyTech

Voice-first AI infrastructure for enterprise. Winner of London CleanTech & runner-up MIT Climate & Energy Prize. Closing seed round, DSTA pilot deployment, CapVista interest.

Read their story

EUREKA - 1st Runner-Up

EasyConvo

AI-driven conversational learning platform. EDIC Entrepreneur Fellowship 2025 winner, incorporated, expanding regionally into Vietnam.

Read their story

IMPACT - 2nd Runner-Up

Robotic Scan2BIM

AI-assisted digital building modelling combining LiDAR, robotics, and BIM. Active engagements with LTA, PUB, DSTA, and Tiong Seng.

Read their story

Watch

See what Innovation Day looks like

Two videos - the highlight reel from 2024 to feel the day's energy, and the 2026 briefing to know exactly what's expected of you.

Recap

CDE Innovation Day 2024

584 participants. Three tracks. One unforgettable day at the College of Design and Engineering.

Briefing · Information Session

2026 Challenge Briefing

The full walk-through: tracks, eligibility, judging criteria, prize structure, and how to enter. Watch this before you register.

Completed

From Spark to Impact:
Developing an Innovation Mindset

A collaboration between CDE, NUSOne and NUS Enterprise, held on 19 August 2026 at NUS UTown ahead of Innovation Day. Founders and investors shared how they turn ideas into real ventures.

When

19 August 2026

Wednesday, 3:00 – 6:00 PM

Time

3:00 – 6:00 PM

Lecture · Panel · Networking

Where

UTown Auditorium 1

National University of Singapore

Meet the panellists