Ideas with Impact
UNB Faculty of Management

UNB was buzzing with entrepreneurial energy on Jan.22 and 23 as 23 student teams gathered for the annual BMO Apex Startup Challenge, hosted by UNB’s International Business and Entrepreneurship Centre (IBEC). With both undergraduate and graduate tracks, the competition once again showcased the talent, creativity, and determination of emerging founders from UNB and beyond.

Apex is a favourite UNB tradition because it brings student innovators from across Canada together. Over two fast-paced days, teams pitch their ideas, refine their business models, and get direct feedback from judges and mentors who are deeply rooted in Atlantic Canada’s business and startup community.

At the awards gala, Dr. Devashis Mitra, dean of the faculty of management, reminded students why their work matters:

“You’ve taken an idea and shaped it into a venture. You’ve collaborated with teammates and professors, and over the last few days you’ve gained valuable insights from our judges and mentors. Regardless of the outcome today, you’ve already accomplished something meaningful.”

This year, many teams tackled challenges in AI and healthcare innovation, bringing forward ideas that reflected some of the biggest trends and challenges shaping entrepreneurs around the world.

Jason George, Branch Manager at BMO Financial Group, said he was “… impressed with the energy, innovation and drive the students showed. The long-term impact to the students would be knowing that SHOWING UP is the critical first step in success.”

Apex has come a long way since its early days as an in-class project. With IBEC’s leadership and BMO’s long-standing support, it has grown into Atlantic Canada’s largest student startup competition. What truly powers this event, though, is the UNB community, including UNB faculty and administrators, mentors, alumni, business partners, and volunteers who show up every year to help students test bold ideas and build real-world skills.

Mary Gaudy, founder of Seline, the first prize winner of the undergraduate track said, “Apex gave me the chance to share and refine my idea in a supportive but rigorous environment, while also bringing attention to a mission that I'm deeply passionate about. Hearing perspectives from founders, judges, and the New Brunswick startup ecosystem was invaluable and has helped sharpen my idea while opening doors to opportunities well beyond the competition and the classroom.”

This year’s participants proved once again that when our community rallies around student innovation, big ideas grow, confidence builds, and the impact reaches far beyond campus.

Here is a complete list of the 2026 BMO Apex Start-up Challenge winners:

Undergraduate track

First prize ($8,000): Mount Allison University
“Seline” - a reproductive clinic-lab hybrid focused on contraception-matching and endocrine care.

Second prize ($4,000): University of New Brunswick
Hexoris - an ultra-low carbon anode materials manufacturing process for lithium-ion batters by converting waste biomass into high-performance synthetic graphite, which is a core component of EV batteries.

Third prize ($2,000): University of New Brunswick
Niavra Vector - a rugged handheld two-puck baseline tool that delivers fast and reliable slope, distance, and elevation readings on uneven terrain using coordinated UWB, IMU, and barometric sensing, thereby reducing repeated measurements and saving time and money for constructions crews.

Graduate track

First prize ($8,000): McMaster University Wonder Guard
An AI-powered catheter adaptor system that uses electrochemical biosensors to detect and predict oncoming urinary tract infections.

Second prize ($4,000): University of Waterloo Cellect Laboratories
A gynecological diagnostics tool that is non-invasive and accessible by turning routine menstruation and vaginal fluid into lab ready samples.

Third prize ($2,000): University of Waterloo JTCipher Inc
A software company revolutionizing stone business inventory management.

Theme-based awards

Entrepreneurial Powerhouse Award: GigLink - University of New Brunswick

McInnes Cooper Legal Services Package (worth $6,000 in legal services): Meshed - University of New Brunswick

Best Financial Model Award ($500): Seline - Mount Allison University

Venture Catalyst Award: Seline - Mount Allison University

Rising Star Award: Artemis - Nicole Vera Giler from St. Thomas University

Startup Innovation Award: Operio - Dalhousie University and Queen's University

Elevator pitch

First place ($1,000): CELLECT Laboratories Inc. - University of Waterloo

Second place ($500): Is This A Scam - Saint Francis Xavier University

Third place ($250): Safe Mail Inc. - University of New Brunswick

Viewer's Choice ($250): Operio - Dalhousie University and Queen's University

Learn more about UNB’s Faculty of Management and International Business and Entrepreneurship Centre (IBEC).