Audacious is the Startup Dunedin programme for Otago Polytechnic and University of Otago students.
It is the first time Audacious has been run by Startup Dunedin, and is funded by Otago Polytechnic, the University of Otago and the Dunedin City Council.
Over the past semester, 50 students have workshopped ideas with support from local industry leaders, as well as polytechnic and university staff.
The top teams in the first round of the programme pitched at a public event earlier this week at which $5500 was awarded.
The pitches were judged by young leaders Samantha Botting, science centre manager at Otago Museum; Peter Ramsay, a Startup Dunedin board member and Audacious alumni, and Mr Dunn, of Otago Innovation.
Students were "doing awesome things and have awesome ideas" and it was they who were going to be the academics in the future. That entrepreneurial mindset needed to be fostered in them as much as possible, Dr Dunn said.
Dr Dunn grew up in Christchurch and, after leaving school, headed to the University of Otago to study a science degree in microbiology and immunology.
Not really knowing what he wanted to do, he decided to do his masters in immunology and while doing that he became interested in commercially-orientated science.
He spent six months working as a research assistant, and after that he was looking for a PhD project that he felt had good commercial potential.
He found one in Auckland - so moved north - to pursue his PhD on skin engineering - growing skin from stem cells for burns victims.
Towards the end of that, he got interested in the business side of things and applied to be a member of the Return on Science Biotech and Life Sciences Investment committee.
Chaired by Pete Hodgson, it met once a month to assess biotech and life sciences research projects and see if they should be funded by Government.
When Dr Dunn's wife was accepted into an orthodontic programme in Dunedin, he moved back south in January this year.
He was helping set up a Momentum investment committee, an initiative that came out of Return on Science.
Momentum was a national programme which operated alongside Return On Science, and was a member of the Commercialisation Partner Network.
It was formed of student-led investment committees with a focus on start-up ventures, particularly those originating from student intellectual property.
The investment committees comprised an independent chairman, tertiary students, and some longitudinally experienced investors, and entrepreneurs. Each Momentum investment committee has a majority of student members.
The Auckland committee had been very successful and it was planned to launch the Dunedin committee in July, Dr Dunn said.
He met Audacious programme manager Rachel Butler because both recognised that Momentum and Audacious worked well together.
While there might be as much entrepreneurial stuff going on in Dunedin as Auckland, that was a "sheer numbers game" and what Dunedin might lack in numbers was made up with in enthusiasm, he said.
Ms Butler said the Audacious pitch and celebration evening went very well and 11 ideas were pitched to judges as they could not narrow it down to 10.
Best business case went to Tobias Hoeta and Andreas Hirczy with My Programme, a physiotherapy exercise compliance app.
Alesha Guard won best positive impact with InterGen, an intergenerational learning initiative involving retirement villages and child care.
Paddy O'Brien and James Davis won best pitch with Scientists of the World - an initiative to "spotify" science journals, while Jahzeel Tan won most audacious with Bundles which was looking for ways to minimise the use of single-serve sachets of soap in the Philippines.
Best physical product went to Harry Wager with Discovica, a travel battery pack that split in two but also allowed the user to travel with a small blender.
People's choice - voted on by those attending the night - went to Zoe Morehu with Whare Takaro, a build-your-own marae flat pack resource aimed at primary schools.
