QUT Commercialisation Club: Excolo! Pitching Competition Grand Final 2026
Description
QUT Commercialisation Club will host the QUT Excolo! Grand Final.
Teams will pitch for up to $100,000 in investment funding to advance their innovation.
QUT Excolo! is an innovation pitching competition created to empower QUT researchers to transform promising ideas into impact. Through a program of workshops, coaching and mentoring, teams refine their concepts and build their commercialisation capability before pitching to an expert panel for investment funding.
Now in its fifth year, The QUT Excolo! program supports QUT researchers to explore pathways for translating research into products, services, ventures and other forms of impact.
Watch Highlights from the 2025 Excolo! Grand Final.
Our six finalist teams have now been selected and will deliver a 5-minute pitch for a share of $200,000 in investment funding to progress their research concept.
Muster - A Robot Sharing Marketplace
Supercapacitors, Reimagined
TangiEcoTale - A Tangible Technology for a Pro-Environmental Future
Autonomous Flood Intelligence System
One Surface, Two Purposes, More Value
HX - Adaptive Handcycle Trainer.
Our judging panel brings expertise from across the innovation ecosystem, with experience spanning entrepreneurship, investment, commercialisation, venture growth and innovation leadership. The panel will select the Champion and Runner Up winners, while the audience will vote for the People's Choice winner.
This year we're excited to showcase the inaugural QUT Entrepreneurship Excolo! Student Founder Prize, celebrating the skills, capability and mindset of students who are building and growing their own ventures. Their winners share in a $40,000 prize pool including cash and in-kind support.
Presented by:
Dr Erin Rayment - QUT Chief Commercialisation and Development Officer
QUT Commercialisation Club events are free to attend and open to the QUT community as well as external partners and guests.
Please invite your network to join you at this event.
Registration and welcome drinks from 3:45pm, the Welcome address will commence at 4:15pm.
Our Judging Panel and Finalist Teams will be announced in early November.
Master of Ceremonies
Dr Erin Rayment - QUT Chief Commercialisation and Development Officer
Dr Erin Rayment brings more than 15 years' experience across academic research, industry engagement and commercialisation. Erin holds leadership roles in organisations that support the growth of Australia's innovation ecosystem, including as a Director of Translational Research Institute Australia, Chairperson of QUT Bluebox, and Board Member of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program and Quantum Innovation Queensland. An interdisciplinary biologist with expertise in regenerative medicine, cell therapy and bioprocessing, Erin is also a Superstar of STEM. She is passionate about fostering collaboration across disciplines and sectors to accelerate innovation, translation and real-world impact.
Judging Panel
Amanda Bennett - Innovation Director, Creative HQ
Amanda Bennett is an innovation leader and ecosystem builder with more than 15 years' experience translating strategy into practical outcomes across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East. She leads Innovate Moreton Bay, the City of Moreton Bay's flagship innovation and entrepreneurship program, supporting founders, startups and innovative businesses to develop and grow. Prior to this, Amanda led the development of an innovation program at Children's Health Queensland. With qualifications in Dietetics, Epidemiology, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship, she brings a unique perspective to founder development, combining co-design, customer discovery and strategic partnerships to help turn ideas into viable businesses.
Julien Taylor - Investment Manager at QIC Ventures
Bringing a founder, operator and investor perspective to early-stage innovation. Bio: Julien has spent his career either investing in companies or helping build them. He previously worked at Australian scale-ups Go1 and Sonder. Julien is a Director at QIC Ventures where he invests in early-stage technology companies.
Stuart Haslam - Founding Partner, Admiralty Capital Group
Stuart Haslam is a senior communications and finance professional with more than 20 years’ international experience across Australia, Asia-Pacific and EMEA. He spent 16 years with Deutsche Bank, including as Global Head of Communications for its International Private Bank, advising senior leaders and working across complex global markets. Stuart brings that experience to early-stage and high-growth companies, working closely with founders to sharpen their business models, positioning and communications. With deep experience in financial markets and corporate reputation, he helps founders articulate their value, engage customers and investors, and build the credibility needed to support future growth.
Wayne Gerard - Founder and Investor, Partner Ventures (Prtnr)
Wayne Gerard has spent more than 25 years founding, scaling, advising and investing in high-growth Australian companies. He co-founded technology company RedEye, helping grow the business from a Brisbane startup into a global software company before its acquisition by Fortive in 2023. A former Queensland Chief Entrepreneur and Queensland Entrepreneur of the Year, Wayne has played a significant role in shaping the state's innovation ecosystem through leadership positions across industry, government and the startup community. He is an experienced company director, investor and advisor, with a particular interest in helping founders build globally competitive businesses that solve meaningful problems at scale.
QUT Excolo! 2025 Highlights
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
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