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Wendy Frew
UNSW Media Office
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w.frew@unsw.edu.au

A UNSW student startup that sells socks to fight hunger, HIV, plant trees and improve literacy has been named on a list of New York’s coolest new businesses.

Conscious Step, the brainchild of UNSW graduates Hassan Ahmad, Adam Long and Prashant Mehta, markets ethically spun socks to raise funds for partner organisations that are working towards the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

They made a list of New York’s top 29 hottest new ventures published by Business Insider Australia.

Ahmad, who is a medical graduate, Long, a marketing strategist and Mehta, a microfinance expert, met while studying at UNSW, Australia’s leading university for startups.

UNSW actively champions innovation in its students and staff. The University, opened a bold new hub on campus this month – Michael Crouch Innovation Centre (MCIC) – where student entrepreneurs can experiment, connect and showcase their ideas to corporate and industry partners.

Unprecedented at an Australian university, the MCIC aims to nurture student innovators from all disciplines, while forging strong two-way connections with business.

“University is a great time to learn business skills, network, and meet new co-founders while risk is low and time is high,” says Ahmad. “UNSW is doing a great job with their multitudes of programs…but students still have to be hungry enough to seek these out.”

Read more about UNSW innovation in the Winter issue of UNSW magazine – Uniken.