Student innovative ideas to help address health challenges under the Beyond Pre-Accelerator programme

The zeal of young people to contribute to addressing health challenges is remarkable. Three student teams from different nationalities and specialties brought together knowledge, produced work and presented their business models and products to the public during the Beyond Pre-Accelerator Demo Day held on Thursday, 11 March 2025 at the ASBIS TECH CLUSTER in Limassol.

Students, academics and representatives of the business world attended the presentations of the teams and had the time to talk with the teams, explain in detail their product or service and of course see it in practice since most teams created their product in the simplest commercial form (MVP). Key to increasing the value provided to healthcare, patients and the health system are students’ ideas.

 

During the event, the 3 finalist student companies had the opportunity to present their innovative business ideas and were evaluated through interviews by the Jury.

The jury consisted of Kyriakos Fialogiannos (Gravity Ventures Incubator, Investment Portfolio Manager), Loukia Samata (Novartis, Head of Access & Partnership Cyprus & Malta), Michalis Strouthos (Cocoon Creations, Co-founder and CEO) and Marina Hadjicharalambous-Ryder (Theramir, Molecular Pharmacologist).

The winner of Beyond Pre-Accelerator 2025 was the idea of the pHera team. pHera is a groundbreaking medical innovation that improves the safety and efficacy of nasogastric (NG) tube placement. Our complete solution features a built-in pH sensor for instant confirmation of correct positioning, reducing risks and making it easier for healthcare professionals in hospitals and home care worldwide.

pHera will have the opportunity to attend and present her idea at the JA Bulgaria National Competition on March 27th. The Cypriot team will be represented by Karthikayini Gomathinayagam, Ron Poon, Alma Sato and Loukia Hadjilazarou.

Briefly the descriptions of the products/services of the remaining 2 groups:

AutiRealm is an innovative virtual reality game that helps children with autism adapt to the real world. Through realistic scenarios, it offers safe practice in social interactions and life skills, with AI and real-time feedback for personalized guidance.

Care Tag is a revolutionary device that connects medical databases between hospitals and institutions. It provides fast, simple and efficient access to patient medical records, anywhere, anytime. Saving lives is just a touch away.

Junior Achievement Cyprus with the kind sponsorship of Novartis Pharma Services Inc. Cyprus and with the support of 10 partners/organizations: Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Cocoon Creations, CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus Federation of Patient Associations (OSAC), Cyprus Oncology Society, Cyprus Seeds, Gravity Ventures, Idea Innovation Centre, Karaiskakio Foundation, Kinisis Ventures, implemented for the third time in Cyprus the Beyond Pre-Accelerator programme , which aims at students and young people to propose solutions for Prevention, Early Diagnosis and Treatment, Psychosocial support, Reintegration and Palliative Care, Case Recording and Health Research.

The Beyond Pre-Accelerator programme is a bridge between entrepreneurship training programmes implemented at universities or by other institutions and specialized Incubators and Accelerators (Business Idea Incubators and Startup Accelerators). Essentially, students of all levels (Bachelor, Master, PhD) are guided through the programme to develop their own business ideas in the health sector, going as far as creating a product in the simplest commercial form (Minimum Viable Product).

Junior Achievement Cyprus is a member of the global non-profit organization JA Worldwide and specializes in entrepreneurship, financial literacy and labor market education.  More information can be found on www.jacyprus.org website.

Novartis AG is a Swiss, multinational, innovative, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis Pharma Services Inc. Cyprus is the local representative and has been active in the country since 2009. Our purpose is to redefine medicine to improve and prolong people’s lives. We use innovative science and technology to address some of society’s most difficult healthcare issues. We discover and we are developing innovative therapies and finding new ways to bring them to as many people as possible. Our medicines reach more than 250 million people worldwide. More information can be found on the https://www.novartis.com/ or on the company’s local Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NovartisCyprus