Celebrating innovation: Meet our 2026 Capstone Project winners

Across three summer terms in 2026, Innovate Summer Academy students completed 23 distinct Capstone Projects across five academic faculties culminating in the Capstone Showcase.

什么是顶点项目？

Students investigate a question in their chosen discipline, develop or test an approach, respond to academic feedback and present their work. The final outcomes vary widely: comparative research, digital prototypes, business plans and physical engineering models all featured in the 2026 portfolio.

Term 1 winner: A Judicial Gap in Gender-Based Violence

Milica Vekic and Elif Yagmur Capa, from Law and Global Justice, examined the gap between legislation and access to justice in Serbia and Turkey. Their comparative research considered barriers at reporting, investigation and sentencing stages, as well as social attitudes and institutional support. They explored how procedures and survivor support could be strengthened.

Term 2 winner: BALLER

Harrison Luc Novembre, Tassos Chatzinikolaou, Berk Bayram and Andreja Popovic developed a sports networking app concept aimed initially at 14–18-year-olds in New York City. Their working prototype helped users find nearby players, courts and games. The accompanying business proposal covered market research, budgeting, competitors, growth and safeguarding features such as age verification and reporting.

Term 3 winner: It’s Hot, Let’s Cool Down

George Masoud, Gabriel Obed Raja and Jiahao Chen began with a problem they experienced: excessive heat in student accommodation. They investigated overheating and designed a practical response, producing a physical structure and model to demonstrate and test their proposed solution. Their project connected engineering principles to an immediate need.

More projects from across the faculties

F.I.R.E. explored early wildfire detection through robotics and machine learning. POMS proposed breath-based, non-invasive medical screening using spectroscopy. SharedKit developed a neighbourhood tool-sharing web-app prototype with features to support trust and repair services. Cadence built an AI-assisted scheduling prototype balancing study, commitments and recovery.

What these projects show

The Capstone Project is not simply a presentation at the end of a course. Students asked questions, tested assumptions and discussed constraints. Those are valuable habits for future academic study, whatever subject they pursue.

了解更多信息

Explore the Capstone webpage to discover more real projects from the 2026 programme.