OREANDA-NEWS. Students from the University of Arizona will make their way to Vienna, Austria to compete in the eighth annual Henkel Innovation Challenge, April 7- 11.

Richard Triana and Brett Leverette, both pursuing MBAs at the University of Arizona, are the winners of the Henkel Innovation Challenge in the United States. The duo, named “Team Ophidian,” teamed up to develop a concept for an innovative and sustainable product or technology for a Henkel brand and competed against students nationwide. Triana and Leverette will showcase their idea and compete against students worldwide in the global competition in Vienna, Austria.

Students from numerous universities exhibited their innovative ideas in teams of two to a panel of judges. The innovations needed to be sustainability-related, fit with the market needs in 2050 and focus on one of Henkel’s three business areas: Adhesive Technologies, Beauty Care or Laundry & Home Care. The judges were comprised of Henkel managers from all three business units.

Team Ophidian presented their idea for a new beauty care product that would give consumers ease and reliability of applying makeup with a perfect match brush. "We are both extremely excited and honored to be selected as the U.S. team competing in Austria. Our Henkel mentor helped us refine our concept, and as a team we have played off the strengths of one another in developing our final presentation," shared the winning team. 

The Henkel Innovation Challenge is in its eighth year, and is an international competition that brings students from all over the world together. The three winning teams from the international final will meet Henkel CEO Kasper Rorsted.  The first place winners will receive a travel voucher worth 10,000 euros; the second place winners will be awarded 4,000 euros and the third place 2,000 euros.