The University of North Florida MedNexus, in partnership with Duval County Public Schools and Two Twelve Benefits, has announced the launch of the 2025 UNF MedNexus Innovation Challenge. The competition is open to teams of four high school students from Duval County, who are invited to develop solutions addressing adolescent vaping as part of this year’s theme, “Break the Vape: Reclaiming teen health through community innovation.”
Teams will compete for scholarships, with first-place winners receiving $1,000 per team member and second-place winners receiving $750 per team member. The deadline for applications is Thursday, Sept. 25. Details about the application process and guidelines can be found on the MedNexus website.
Last year’s challenge saw four students from Stanton College Preparatory School win first place in the Spring 2024 MedNexus Innovation Challenge. Their project later won Florida’s Fourth District Congressional App Challenge, allowing them to present their app “Click” to Congressman Aaron Bean in Washington, D.C.
That year’s challenge was presented by UNF in collaboration with the City of Palm Coast and Flagler Schools. Students were tasked with designing solutions to address teen social media addiction. Congressman Bean selected a team consisting of Annabel Kaye Sai Tejasvi Vegi, Owen Bayley and Dorothy Peterson for their app that helps limit teen social media use by redirecting attention toward more productive activities.
“By conducting a study, we realized that many of our friends spent too much time on social media,” said Kaye. “It made us realize that our idea could potentially have a real-world impact.”
The team competed among more than 12,000 students and nearly 3,900 app submissions nationwide.
“Their innovative thinking, creativity and teamwork illustrate the bright future of technology in Northeast Florida,” Bean said.
Their app is now displayed in the U.S. Capitol and featured on the House of Representatives’ website. The students also attended a reception on Capitol Hill in recognition of their achievement. They join other young innovators whose work has attracted attention from policymakers and leaders in technology.
