.svg){kind=small}
Industry Challenges
- Tackle real-world industry challenges
- Explore problems across different sectors
- Develop ideas and practical solutions
- Learn from industry experts and mentors
- Turn ideas into meaningful impact
Trusted by students from schools across Australia
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.webp)
The Industry Challenge For Ambitious Students
The Industry Challenge is a one-day sprint where university students team up to solve a real brief from a real company, then pitch their solution to industry judges. It's for students who want experience that counts before they graduate. For students who learn best by doing. And for students who want to know what working on real problems actually feels like.
Apply real-world skills
to a challenge
In one day, you'll take what you've learned in your course and apply it to a live brief alongside students from other disciplines. It's the fastest way to see how your skills hold up outside the classroom.
Immerse yourself in industry
Every challenge is set by a real company with a real problem to solve. You'll hear from the people behind it, get guidance from mentors and pitch directly to the judges who know the problem.
Accelerate your career
You'll walk away with a real project, pitch experience and connections with industry professionals. It's something concrete to talk about in your next interview, and proof you can deliver under pressure.
How does it work?
Every part of the Industry Challenge is built to put young people to work on the problems real companies are facing right now, from forming a team with strangers to pitching your solution to industry judges. It's one day, it's high energy, and it's designed to show what you can build under pressure.
A live challenge set by a real company
Every brief comes from a company with a real problem and real stakes. You'll bring your creativity and a new way of thinking to reimagine how they could approach it, giving the company fresh ideas from the next generation of customers, employees and leaders.
and formation
Diverse teams, built on the day
You'll join a team of five students from different degrees, from engineering and design to business and the arts. Together, you'll tackle a team-building challenge, where you'll get to know each other and discover what everyone brings to the table.
By the time you open the brief, you'll be working like a real team, with solutions tested from every angle before they reach the judges.
Five hours from idea to solution
You'll research the problem, test your ideas and build a solution your team believes in, with mentors guiding your thinking throughout the day.
Working under real time pressure shows the company how you think, collaborate and deliver when it counts.
Clear, innovative solutions to the challenge
You'll pitch your solution to the industry judges who know the problem best and get direct feedback on your thinking.
The strongest ideas go back to the company as real options to explore, and the students behind them get noticed by the people who make hiring decisions.
Rewarded for the ideas you bring
Winning teams are rewarded by our industry partners for the quality of their thinking and the strength of their pitch.
You'll leave with recognition from real decision makers and a project to point to in your next interview, while partners get a visible way to back emerging talent.
Skills you will learn
Every student begins with potential and leaves with confidence in themselves. Our programs are designed to strengthen the future-ready skills needed for academic success, leadership and careers.
Click any skill to see how it develops through the learning journey.
Problem Solving
Finding practical solutions with confidence.
Students learn to break a challenge down before building anything, testing what they assume against what customers actually tell them. Most discover that the problem they started with wasn't the real one.
stronger
solve confidently
at the start
Critical Thinking
Making better decisions with evidence.
Students learn to look beyond the first answer and ask what the evidence actually shows. They challenge assumptions, compare different perspectives, and use questioning to make stronger decisions about their venture.
stronger
Reason independently
at the start
Creativity
Turning ideas into something that didn't exist before.
Students are encouraged to question the obvious answer and explore what else might be possible. They generate ideas, experiment with different approaches, and learn how to turn a rough concept into something people actually want.
stronger
Think creatively
at the start
Communication
Making people understand and believe in your idea.
Students practise explaining ideas to people who don't already know their work. Through pitches, presentations and feedback, they learn to communicate clearly, listen carefully, handle difficult questions and speak with confidence.
stronger
Present confidently
at the start
Teamwork
Building something better together.
Students learn that good teamwork is more than splitting up tasks. They navigate different opinions, share responsibility, give constructive feedback and make decisions together while working towards a common goal.
stronger
Collaborate better
at the start
Digital & AI skills
Using technology to make ideas happen.
Students move from simply using technology to actively building with it. They experiment with digital platforms and AI tools to research, prototype, create and solve problems, gaining confidence through hands-on experience.
stronger
Build with tech confidently
at the start
Job readiness
Showing up to work ready to contribute.
Students practise the skills employers actually look for: meeting deadlines, working with unfamiliar people, presenting their ideas and taking responsibility for outcomes. They finish with real experience they can talk about in an interview.
stronger
Feel confident finding work
at the start
What you'll leave with
Every business gets built out of the same handful of ingredients. It's problem worth solving, a model that makes money, something people can actually use, and a pitch that holds a room. Real founders make them, funders ask to see them, and you'll finish the program holding your own.
Problem Statement
A strong hypothesis covering who has the problem, how often it hits them, what it costs them, and how you know. It's the thing every business is built on top of, and most ideas fall apart the first time someone writes it down honestly.
Business Model Canvas
Nine boxes covering who you're for, what you charge, what it costs you, and why the whole thing holds together. It's the first thing a funder, judge or grant panel asks to see, and most people can't answer it.
Idea Prototype
A rough version of your idea that a stranger can hold, click or try. Paper, Figma, code, cardboard, whatever proves it works. Nobody funds a description of a product, they fund the thing they got to test themselves.
industry-ready pitch
Everything you've built, tightened into a case someone can say yes to. It's the format investors, grant panels and accelerators all run on, and you'll deliver yours to industry judges on a real stage.
this is what learning looks likes
testimonials
Real stories from real learners sharing their experiences, growth, and success with Future Minds.
“Future Minds gave me the perfect support I needed to launch my business. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself."
Founder @ Kayya Crafts
“I’ve grown so much. I've gained the confidence to show my art business and tell my story, and it made me more comfortable applying for future galleries and markets.”
Independent artist
“Future Minds helped us sell at real markets, and we had our best sales day yet. Nearly everyone bought something because they'd come to support us. It was humbling to be so supported and recognised.”
Co-founder @ Gumnut Echo
"It's like a kickstarter for your business. I'm making more connections and building more opportunities than I ever expected."
CEO @ HennaHQ
"It's something you shouldn't miss. The journey of running a business can feel lonely at times, since it's not always seen as a 'stable' path, but the people in this program are truly amazing and inspiring."
Founder @ Floria Touch
“Future Minds surrounds you with people who inspire you to grow, so many incredible connections and really cool people who can genuinely help you.”
CEO @ Ashan Industries
“Future Minds was exactly what I needed. There are many problems in the world, and I knew I wanted to solve them, but it was always difficult to discuss these issues with students my age. It gave me the opportunity to meet with students who wanted to change the world."
Co-founder @ Startup Link UniMelb
"Participating in FutureHack was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The program opened up my eyes to the power and impact of social entrepreneurship. It helped me see that I could combine my love for helping others with business ."
Founder @ Letters Against ISO
"Future Minds kickstarted my career in the social impact space. Their mentorship and guidance helped change me as a leader. "
Former Chair at Victorian Government's Youth Congress
"It opened my mind to social impact and entrepreneurship, something I never would have discovered without participating. Later, I was inspired to attend the Yale Young Global Scholars program, where I got to meet startup founders from all around the world."
Analyst @ Reserve Bank of Australia
"Future Minds has been one of the most influential events in my life! Their ability to scout some of the best mentors and generate an environment of productive innovation is incredible. Immediately after, it helped me land an internship at an edtech startup."
Founder @ Aurora
"It’s different from any other event I’ve participated in. Whether you want to work in a startup or not, Future Minds allows you to meet so many new people and make new connections."
National Lead @ Encode Justice
Past Challenges
Showcase previous challenge themes and highlight the ideas that emerged from earlier cohorts.
ImpactHack: Retail Reimagined invites students to explore the future of retail by designing innovative solutions that blend technology, sustainability and human‑centred thinking to create smarter, more seamless and more meaningful customer experiences.
Delivered and facilitated in partnership with Monash University and UNIQLO Australia
Maruf Hasan
James Chan
Satoshi Naito
Noriaki Koyama
Tim Routley
As the cost of housing, food and healthcare keeps rising, more people are feeling shut out and anxious about the future. Financial stress is chipping away at social cohesion, leaving people with less trust, less belonging and less hope.
How might we design products, services or systems that help people participate more fully in the economy and feel valued, especially those doing it toughest like renters, low-income earners, recent migrants, students and people in insecure work?
Delivered and facilitated in partnership with Monash University and Scanlon Foundation.
Lucy Watson
Mengting Cao
Fernanda Mata
Indigenous cultures, histories and knowledges hold deep value, yet they are often placed at the edges of university life rather than woven through it. Embedding them properly means honouring principles of respect for Country and moving away from old systems.
How might Indigenous Cultures, Histories and Knowledges be embedded and thrive within the Monash student experience, maintaining Indigenous principles of respect for Country and avoiding colonial systems that perpetuate extraction and exploitation?
Delivered and facilitated in partnership with Monash University and Parbinata.
Tathra Lowe
Jaya Blandthorn
Troy McGee
Jamil Tye
.webp)
Homelessness is one of the few social problems most people see with their own eyes, and still walk past. What's missing isn't compassion - it's a next step small enough to fit inside an ordinary week.
How might we design products, services, campaigns or business models that give one specific group of people, a way to act on homelessness in their own community?
Delivered and facilitated in partnership with We are Mobilise.
Hrishikesh Thatiot
Daniel Mellish
Brenna Hobson
Dr Jason Brown
Sarah Mander
At the height of COVID-19, young people across Australia were living through disruption they had no say in shaping. Casual work disappeared overnight, study was interrupted at the worst possible moment, and isolation stretched long enough to leave a mental health toll that outlasted the lockdowns themselves. Meanwhile the recovery was being designed almost entirely by people it would affect least.
How might we build a recovery that reflects what young people actually went through, using solutions they generate themselves?
Delivered in partnership with Futures Collective and Bridging Us
Moyi Zheng
Rukaiyah Abdullah
Shani Cain
Questions we get asked
Find quick answers to the most common questions about our programs, process, and learning experience.
