Second year student Lucas John is one of the first students to benefit from a bold initiative from Waikato University aimed at nurturing inventors and entrepreneurs.
This is the first year the University has run the Summer Start-up Programme Scholarship, and the old railway station building on Hillcrest Rd will be converted for the programme. Lucas' idea is to develop small GPS trackers that can be stuck to anything from phones, keys and wallets to clothing and bags, which can then be tracked via a mobile app.
A $5000 scholarship will allow Lucas to develop his concept and hopefully see him pitching his product as CEO of his own company. Lucas said there were two of the main difficulties to overcome - price and size.
"We want to make the GPS tracker as small as possible. There's no prototype yet but we are looking at a sticker-type thing to connect to a phone app."
Lucas said current GPS trackers usually constitute small boxes aimed at vehicle technology, but are emerging in activities such as animal trackers that could be adapted for his idea. In terms of cost, Lucas said any tracker must be cheaper than the object they are attached to or no one would buy them.
"We may have to sell them in reels of 10," he said.
The aim is to have the GPS accurate down to a metre, enabling it to be tracked not just to a region but also within a home environment.
Lucas will be provided with professional assistance over summer, and at the end of the project he is required to give a presentation to investors.
If the development is successful Lucas would effectively become the CEO of the company which makes them.
If a prototype is made Lucas is also considering starting a crowd funding page.
Until last semester Lucas was doing the sports and leisure course before switching to a Bachelor Degree in Entrepreneurship.
"I'm always coming up with things," he said.
He is also always losing things, so the GPS tracker was a natural evolution.
"I've lost phones, I've lost clothes, I've lost everything.
"I lost my bag with my wallet, keys and phone in it. It wasn't stolen; I just left it somewhere and couldn't find it any more ... USB sticks ...
"I lose so many USBs."
Other ideas floating around Lucas' head include rowing and cycling machines, which use dynamos to charge batteries which could in turn power the gym in which they are used, something he hopes might bring the price of gyms down a bit.