03/13/2026
U of L students take home 1st place at the 2026 Launch Point Pitch Competition!
Last Friday's live finals brought together student and community entrepreneurs for a full day of innovative business pitches. Launch Point is a collaboration between the University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge Polytechnic, and community partners, RINSA, Community Futures Lethbridge, and Catapult Startups.
1st place in the student competition went to U of L students Emilio Hurtado, Chandra Suryadevara, and Naveen Vadlamudi for their venture. Their team is developing a mechanical arm–based autonomous injection system for cattle, designed to reduce labour demands and costs in large feedlot operations.
U of L student Kiana Jans placed 3rd, teaming up with Lethbridge Polytechnic student Gavin Warmink to pitch Southpaws Rescue—a platform designed to simplify pet adoption by creating a centralized hub for Southern Alberta rescue listings, helping prospective adopters and rescue organizations connect more easily.
The event featured a keynote from ULethbridge alum and 2024 Launch Point winner , who reflected on the programs, mentors, and opportunities that supported her entrepreneurial journey, including Trailblazing, Lab2Market Discover, and Draper University, and how they helped shape the development of her company, BeeSafe Biotech.
We were also proud to see the UofL iGEM team among this year’s finalists with their project MOSMAGE.
Huge congratulations to all of this year’s finalists. The competition was incredibly close and the ideas were impressive across the board.
You can watch the keynote, see the pitches, and view the full results at the link here: ulethbridge.ca/agility/launch-point-pitch-competition
We’re already looking forward to the next year!