Students from across New Mexico and the region gathered at New Mexico State University this spring to participate in the final competition of the 2022-2023 Innoventure Challenge, an event for young entrepreneurs-to-be. The event is hosted by NMSU’s Arrowhead Center.

This year’s final event took place March 30 at the Corbett Center Student Union. The Innoventure Challenge is a year-long competitive event open to middle and high school students throughout New Mexico and the Borderplex region. During the school year, students are challenged to think like entrepreneurs and to design simple prototypes out of an approved list of materials, all in a four-week timeframe. This challenges them to quickly put their teams’ ideas to the test and create innovative products.

Three preliminary rounds are scheduled every school year, two in the fall semester and one for the early spring semester, with each round having its own theme. Across New Mexico, 385 students participated in the preliminary rounds for the 2022-2023 Innoventure Challenge.

The challenge culminated in a one-day product design and pitch competition at the final event, where the top winning teams from the preliminary rounds were challenged to solve a technical problem, create a business plan, and design a simple prototype. This year’s final competition theme was Ocean Cleanup. Students were challenged to design and create an innovative solution that could clean the ocean or prevent trash from reaching the ocean or other large waterways.

A total of 40 students, who formed 11 teams, from across the state competed in the Innoventure Final Challenge at the NMSU Corbett Center for prizes. First-, second- and third-place teams all won prizes, with members of the first-place team each winning a laptop.

For the high school competition, Genevieve LaFont, Dessa LaFont and Ethan Fetty of team Tech Gods from Hot Springs High School in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, took first place. They created an expandable net that is lowered into the water with a motor on a boat. The net included high-tech motors, netting, and underwater acoustic devices. The students presented that these systems tend to concentrate on specific frequencies between 120kHz and 130kHz.

For the middle school competition, Ariana Romero, Jayla Lucero, Alayna Jaramillo and Evaristo Tenorio of team The 4.0’s from Anton Chico Middle School in La Loma, New Mexico, took first place. They created a machine with 10 screen doors and a heat sensor. This machine is to be set under a bridge with water flowing through the screen doors. The heat sensor picks up the heat signature of marine life and opens the screens for them, and quickly closes it. A sweeper would then push any trash into a waste bin. The machine would be powered with hydropower.

“I am continually impressed by the creativity and innovation displayed by the students who participate in this competition,” said Sandi Ringwood, Innoventure program manager. “We look forward to seeing what next year's challenge brings and are excited to continue to support and encourage young innovators in our region.”

The Innoventure Challenge is hosted by Arrowhead Center and sponsored by the Daniels Fund and the Hunt Foundation.

For more information on the Innoventure Challenge, visit https://arrowheadcenter.org/program/innoventure/.