Event Date: 29-Sept-25
Event brief description
On 29 September 2025, Galgotias Incubation Centre (GICRISE) had the privilege of hosting Dr. Willa Huston from the University of Melbourne for an exclusive Startups Engagement Session. The event aimed to strengthen international collaboration and provide global perspectives to the startups incubated at GICRISE. Dr. Huston delivered an insightful talk on research-driven entrepreneurship, highlighting strategies for product-market fit and commercialization. The session featured startup pitches, mentoring interactions, and in-depth discussions on innovation pathways. Founders and faculty alike benefited from actionable feedback and explored potential avenues for joint research, knowledge exchange, and academic collaboration with the University of Melbourne.
Event Detailed Description
On 29 September 2025, Galgotias Incubation Centre (GICRISE) had the honour of hosting Dr. Willa Huston from the University of Melbourne for a high-impact Startups Engagement Session. The visit reinforced GICRISE’s commitment to building international linkages and strengthening the local startup ecosystem by exposing incubated ventures to global academic and entrepreneurial perspectives. Dr. Huston’s presence elevated the event’s profile and created meaningful opportunities for knowledge exchange, mentorship, and potential collaboration.
The session opened with a warm welcome from the GICRISE leadership, who briefly outlined the centre’s mission to nurture early-stage startups through mentoring, capacity-building and access to networks. Dr. Huston delivered a keynote that combined research-led insights with practical frameworks for scaling early-stage ventures. Her talk emphasised evidence-based approaches to product-market fit, user-centred experimentation, and the role of university–industry partnerships in accelerating commercialization. Attendees appreciated how Dr. Huston translated academic research into actionable tactics that founders could adopt immediately.
A core element of the visit was a curated pitch and feedback segment in which six incubated startups presented concise demos of their products, business models and short-term milestones. Each founder received structured feedback from Dr. Huston and the GICRISE panel, focusing on validation strategies, go-to-market sequencing and metrics to track early traction. The dialogue was candid and constructive — founders were challenged to sharpen their value propositions and to prioritise experiments that would generate measurable learning quickly. Several startups revised their immediate action plans on the spot, reflecting the practical value of the critique.
Complementing the formal presentations, the engagement session included breakout mentoring tables where Dr. Huston met small groups of founders and faculty. These interactions allowed for deeper dives into technical roadblocks, commercialization pathways, and possible avenues for joint research or student collaboration with the University of Melbourne. Faculty members from Galgotias exchanged views on curriculum alignment and co-supervised research projects that could create internship pathways and joint innovation projects for students and startups alike.
Beyond mentorship, the visit generated concrete outcomes. Dr. Huston expressed interest in exploring collaborative pilot projects and academic-exchange opportunities, while GICRISE identified specific startups that could benefit from exploratory research support or market-access introductions. The session concluded with an agreement to formalise a follow-up plan: a memorandum of understanding outlining student exchange, joint workshops, and mechanisms for shared supervision on applied research projects — subject to institutional approvals.
Feedback from participants was uniformly positive. Founders valued the actionable feedback and international perspective; faculty welcomed the opportunity to align teaching and applied research with industry needs; and the GICRISE team regarded the visit as a catalyst for strengthening its global partnerships. In summary, Dr. Willa Huston’s visit on 29 September 2025 was a strategically significant engagement that delivered immediate value to startups and laid the groundwork for sustained collaboration between Galgotias Incubation Centre and the University of Melbourne. The event reaffirmed GICRISE’s trajectory as a bridge between academic rigor and entrepreneurial action.
Department Name –GICRISE
Event Outcome
The visit of Dr. Willa Huston to GICRISE was a highly enriching experience that successfully bridged academic expertise with entrepreneurial aspirations. The engagement fostered a dynamic exchange of ideas, provided startups with practical insights, and opened doors for future collaborations in research and innovation. Both the incubated founders and faculty members expressed deep appreciation for the constructive dialogue and mentorship. The session concluded with a shared commitment to exploring formal collaboration through joint programs, workshops, and student engagement opportunities. This milestone visit marks a step forward in GICRISE’s mission to nurture globally aligned, innovation-led startups and strengthen its international partnerships.





