Two Otago innovators have been recognised for their ability to turn bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs, being named finalists in the 2025 KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards.
Medical student Josiah Bugden is a finalist in the Momentum Student Entrepreneur category for the development of CourseSpy, a platform designed to help students plan their degrees.
Professor Paul Glue, of the Department of Psychological Medicine, is also a finalist in the BNZ Researcher Entrepreneur Award for his work developing a controlled-release ketamine drug for people with treatment-resistant depression and anxiety.
They are among 18 finalists in the awards which shine a spotlight on Aotearoa New Zealand’s deep tech talent.
KiwiNet CEO Dr James Hutchinson says the finalists “represent the cutting edge of innovation, turning world-class science into high-value, high-growth ventures with real impact for New Zealand”.
“From pioneering medical treatments to clean tech, sustainable food production and space innovation, they show how science can tackle real-world challenges – growing our economy, boosting productivity, and doing good in our communities.
“The KiwiNet Awards highlight the powerful returns delivered by research commercialisation, with every $1 invested in PreSeed Accelerator Funding generating $13 in economic value for Aotearoa.”
Josiah Bugden
CourseSpy, Momentum Student Entrepreneur
Medical student Josiah Bugden is helping his fellow students navigate university life by enabling them to make informed decisions when planning their courses. PHOTO: CONOR MACFARLANE
What began as a side-project for Josiah has evolved into a platform with more than 250,000 visits, helping students to make better and more informed decisions about their university study.
Josiah is a medical student and founder of CourseSpy.com, a rapidly growing platform that equips students to navigate university life with confidence. Frustrated by a lack of clarity when trying to choose his university courses and understand degree requirements, Josiah set out to build the all-in-one tool he wished he had.
CourseSpy now hosts more than 15,000 course reviews across all eight New Zealand universities and has helped countless students plan their degrees.
CourseSpy empowers students to make informed decisions through peer-shared advice, course planning tools, and by working with universities to increase transparency and accessibility. In a recent user survey, the overwhelming majority of student users reported they had changed their future course selections based on insights gained through the platform.
CourseSpy has evolved to be more than a review site. It allows students to plan their degrees, calculate entrance scores, manage timetables, choose accommodation, and access curated study resources – removing the administrative burden so they can focus on learning.
In the past year, CourseSpy has also launched Mastery Modules – interactive, adaptive question banks designed to guide students through each lecture and improve their long-term retention and grades. These modules are built by a team of tutors and high-achieving students to ensure high-quality, course-specific learning support.
Josiah's goal is to continue the rapid growth of CourseSpy by adding tutors, textbooks, and further developing Mastery Modules for CourseSpy's proprietary learning platform, while looking to expand overseas in the near future.
Despite starting with no coding or business experience, Josiah has shown a true entrepreneur spirit, learning along the way through trial and error and countless hours of hard work. Over the past year Josiah has worked closely with universities, student associations, and fellow students to build a platform that meets their needs.
Josiah is passionate about building tools that make a real difference, supporting others in the startup space, and hopes that CourseSpy will set a new standard for student support worldwide.
Professor Paul Glue
BNZ Researcher Entrepreneur Award
Professor Paul Glue has helped develop a controlled-release ketamine tablet to treat anxiety and depression. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO
With a prolific career in clinical pharmacology and more than 13 patents, Paul has dedicated the last 15 years to a breakthrough drug for depression and anxiety that will have far reaching benefits for patients in New Zealand and beyond.
As a clinical psychiatrist, he has many accolades to his name – leading clinical trials for Pfizer with seven drugs successfully entering clinical practice and global markets, authoring more than 500 publications, and receiving several international research awards.
Now he is following his passion by working as a Consultant Psychiatrist and as a researcher in the Department of Psychological Medicine.
Over the last 15 years he has focussed on use of ketamine for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. He made a breakthrough in this space with the discovery that the side effects of ketamine could be dramatically reduced by altering how rapidly ketamine is absorbed into the body.
In collaboration with Douglas Pharmaceuticals, Paul designed the first in-patient studies of a controlled-release ketamine drug. During these trials patients reported that depression and anxiety symptoms improved within two days with minimal side effects.
He has since led a larger – and equally successful – phase 2 trial in patients with treatment-resistant depression, carried out in centres across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan.
Paul is a highly respected expert in clinical trial design, both for his own projects and in support of colleagues’ translational research. As a frequent innovator, he works closely with Otago Innovation, the University’s tech transfer company. He is also a valued collaborator with Douglas Pharmaceuticals, clinicians, and researchers across various fields.
Paul remains at the coal face as Chair of Douglas’ Clinical Advisory Board for this oral ketamine treatment as it aims for approval as a widely available antidepressant with blockbuster expectations.
About the Kiwi Innovation Network (KiwiNet)
KiwiNet brings New Zealand’s commercialisation sector together to accelerate public research to market, driving breakthrough innovation, investment, and proven impact for New Zealand. KiwiNet is currently made up of 19 of New Zealand’s universities, Crown Research Institutes, and other research organisations, representing 80 per cent of New Zealand’s public research.
Through PreSeed Accelerator funding from MBIE, training and development, expert guidance, and industry connections, KiwiNet empowers commercialisation teams and researchers to drive impact from science. To date, KiwiNet has invested $66M in PreSeed Accelerator Funding with 88 start-up companies established, and 788 employment opportunities generated or sustained in New Zealand. Our PreSeed projects since 2003 have created over $646M in known revenue to NZ.
Research at Otago
The University of Otago has a global reputation for research excellence, with our researchers driving significant advancements in health, society, culture, science, and sustainability.
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