SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure , Ahumahi, Auahatanga me te Tūāhanga

College of Creative Arts celebrates 10 years in Asia-Pacific top 3

Massey University’s Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts received second place in the 2025 International Red Dot Design Awards. This is the 11th year in a row that Massey has been ranked in the top 3 Asia-Pacific universities.

In 2025, 40 talented students have been recognised at the 2025 Red Dot Awards for excellence across visual communication, industrial, textile and fashion design.

This year’s success is especially impressive, with an entire cohort of 25 industrial design students named Best of the Best in the lighting design category.

Furthermore, in 2024, Massey students were awarded 19 Red Dot awards, including a Best of the Best Red Dot award. Staff members also received 2 Red Dot awards.

Overall, Massey staff and students have received 99 Red Dot awards, the “Oscars” of design.

Read more about our results

Massey Ventures: catalysing innovation and sustainability

Massey Ventures offers expert advice and early-stage investment to help Massey staff and students develop, commercialise and launch their great ideas. In 2022, they supported 3 spinouts, 2 investments and 2 licences. In 2023, a further 2 licencing deals and a spinout were supported.

Massey Ventures have also provided expert guidance and financial support to 2 start-up companies which support a low-carbon economy.

• Captivate Technology specialises in carbon capture and removal.
• EatKinda makes dairy-free ice cream from cauliflower that is better for the environment (compared to dairy ice cream) and tastes great.

In 2022 and 2023, Massey’s Innovation Competition supported Massey staff and students with innovative ideas that show commercial potential. In 2022, 13 teams competed, with this increasing to 16 in 2023.

In 2022, the $50,000 prize was awarded to Associate Professor Vyacheslav Filichev and his team from the School of Food Technology and Natural Sciences to begin research and development on a gene manipulation technology with the potential to treat aggressive cancers.

Furthermore, Massey Ventures is leading the commercialisation of a life-changing treatment for strawberry birthmarks in infants, with the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute and AFT Pharmaceuticals. The case study won the Best Licensing Deal award at the 2023 Australasian Research Commercialisation Awards.

International collaborations

More than half, 55%, of Massey University’s 428 SDG9 publications between 2020 and 2024 resulted from international collaborations (Scopus database extracted using SciVal in October 2025).

The most frequently cited papers focused on topics including corporate green innovation, life-cycle methods for assessing environmental sustainability and sustainable initiatives in industry.

The number of publications per year has shown an upward trend in recent years, increasing from 71 in 2020 to 75 in 2021, 92 in 2022, dropping slightly to 81 in 2023 and reaching 109 in 2024.

Innovation Awards

Massey achieved a record 6 finalists across 5 categories at the 12th annual KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards 2024, highlighting groundbreaking innovations in food technology, sustainable dairy alternatives and water disinfection. This included the Master of Science graduate Emily McIsaac taking home the Sprout Agritech Breakthrough Innovator Award, recognising her outstanding contribution to advancing agri-food innovation.

Industrial design graduate Jack Pugh has won the 2024 James Dyson National Award for his innovative medical multi-tool, designed to simplify tasks for busy healthcare professionals. The clever design enhances safety and reduces medical waste — marking the 10th year in a row that a Massey student has taken out this prestigious award.

Magritek Nuclear Magnetic Resonance technology — the result of decades of world-class research at Massey and Victoria University of Wellington — won the Commercialisation Impact category at the 10th annual KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards in 2022.

In 2023, industrial design student Nick Holland won the national James Dyson Award for his drug-testing kit tailored to women and disabled individuals, Pre-Podium. This is the 9th consecutive year in which a Massey student has won the top prize.

In 2022, Hatch, an accessible medical bassinet that facilitates acute postpartum recovery and maternal bonding by allowing babies to be in close proximity to the mothers, took top honours in the James Dyson National Awards. This was the 8th consecutive year a Massey student had won the competition.

Also in 2022, an operational hijab, designed by 2 Massey lecturers, was awarded the highly prestigious Tahunui-a-Rangi award for invention and creation by the Royal Society Te Apārangi. The innovative hijab allows Muslim women in policing, emergency response and government to benefit from the inclusivity, efficiency and safety the design brings.

Captivate Technology advances carbon capture

Captivate Technology has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator: APAC Sustainability Edition. This mentorship programme supports startups advancing the circular economy and sustainable agriculture.

Founded with support from Massey Ventures, Captivate is pioneering carbon capture using its innovative MUF-16 material, developed through Massey research. It demonstrates the university’s impact on cutting-edge sustainable solutions.

Student innovation successes

Massey students consistently create innovative solutions that make a real-world impact. For example, in 2023 designs included:

• a post-surgery bra designed for comfort
• Smoosh flatpack shoes, which are designed for frequent travellers
• new technology to make protein-enriched, plant-based cheeses
• a culturally responsive 'slot n slide' lifejacket inspired by the Indian sari for flood events in India.