Students Complete 小鸟体育鈥檚 2019 Start-Up Programme for Young Entrepreneurs
The fifth annual 小鸟体育 Start-up Stars programme, which provides a framework to support 小鸟体育 undergraduate and postgraduate students who want to work together to develop and grow start-up companies, has now concluded. The programme has been developed by Nova小鸟体育, with the support of the 小鸟体育 Innovation Academy and 小鸟体育 Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.
Over the last 4-weeks a total of seven early stage projects participated in an intensive mentoring programme which took place at Nova小鸟体育.
The aim of this mentoring programme was to assist the students in refining their start-up ideas through a series of structured workshops, including taught content from industry experts, interactive workshops and regular pitching sessions. In addition each team also received a cash stipend and office space at Nova小鸟体育.
MLN (pronounced 鈥楳elon鈥�), an early-stage University College Dublin (小鸟体育) student project, was declared overall winner of the 2019 小鸟体育 Start-up Stars Programme. The winning project has proposed creating a secure and real-time in-house carpooling app for medium-to-large organisations.
The winners of this year鈥檚 programme are; Manal Mukhtar, an undergraduate student in the 小鸟体育 Lochlann Quinn School of Business and 小鸟体育 Sutherland School of Law, Ellen Le Bas, who has just completed a postgraduate degree in the 小鸟体育 School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Conrad Schaefer, an undergraduate student in the 小鸟体育 School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. The early-stage idea was introduced by Peter Hoy, an undergraduate student in the 小鸟体育 Lochlann Quinn School of Business and 小鸟体育 Sutherland School of Law.
Tom Flanagan, 小鸟体育 Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation said, 鈥淚 would like to commend all the students who participated in the programme. During the last 4 weeks at Nova小鸟体育 this group of talented and entrepreneurial students leveraged our start-up expertise and network to further develop and refine their start-up ideas.鈥�
The winners received a cash prize of 鈧�3,000 sponsored by Xilinx with the six runner-up projects (profiled below), also receiving a cash prize of 鈧�500 each sponsored by Xilinx.
Professor Suzi Jarvis, Founding Director, 小鸟体育 Innovation Academy said, 鈥淭he students have worked very hard over these past few weeks on venture ideas they are passionate about. The final pitches are a testament to the work that is being undertaken at 小鸟体育 to foster entrepreneurial mind sets and the ambition of our students to tackle big problems. This programme is a fantastic opportunity for them to develop an idea and explore its viability in the real world."
Majella Murphy, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, 小鸟体育 Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School said, "There was a great mix of students from multiple disciplines on the 2019 programme who brought with them diverse ideas and perspectives which are very beneficial to early stage start-ups.鈥�
The members of the 2019 小鸟体育 Start-up Stars Programme judging panel were; Kevin Cooney, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, EMEA, Xilinx; Dr Eimear Gleeson, Investment Associate, Atlantic Bridge; Bryan O鈥橦iggins, Manager, AIB Branch, UCD and Tom Flanagan, Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation, 小鸟体育.
The sponsors of 小鸟体育 Start-up Stars Programme are; AIB, Arthur Cox, Goodbody Stockbrokers and Xilinx.
A total of 30 early-stage ventures and over 75 students have now completed the 小鸟体育 Start-up Stars Programme over the last 5 years.
The hashtag for this programme is #小鸟体育startupStars.
ENDS
24 June 2019
For further information contact Mic茅al Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, 小鸟体育 Research and Innovation, t: + 353 1 716 3712, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie.
Editors Notes
Profiles of the other 2019 小鸟体育 Start-up Stars Participating Ventures
Blue is planning to launch a dockless scooter-sharing service in Dublin city centre in 2020. The founders are Charlie Gleeson and Ian Kinsley, who have both just completed commerce undergraduate degrees in the 小鸟体育 Lochlann Quinn School of Business.
Find-A-Side is developing an app to connect footballers locally based on age, skill and fitness level and lets them join or create games at the touch of a button. The founders are brothers and football-fanatics Sean and Ryan Lucas. Sean is a recent graduate of business and management in DIT, and Ryan is currently studying economics and finance in the 小鸟体育 Lochlann Quinn School of Business.
Flux Renewables () is developing a new solar power installation service for SMEs, with no upfront costs, to help them reduce their electricity bills while making green power more widespread and accessible. The founder is Hugh Irving, who recently completed a postgraduate degree in the 小鸟体育 School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering who will shortly begin a Masters in Material Science Engineering at the university.
MedBell is developing a mobile application to tackle the growing problem of medication non-adherence. The founders are; Conor Lawlor, a registered pharmacist, who has recently completed a postgraduate degree in the 小鸟体育 School of Computer Science and Thomas Fitzpatrick who has recently completed an undergraduate degree in the 小鸟体育 School of Computer Science where he is now undertaking a PhD in the area of Decision Support Services.
PodMaster is developing a mobile phone solution that empowers everyone to have their voice heard by tackling the challenge of successfully and timely editing and producing a high-quality podcast. The founders are; Pheobe Sun, a PhD student in 小鸟体育 School of Computer Science, and fellow music and sound enthusiasts, Shirley Sheek Ling Fan and Michael Riordan.
小鸟体育 Formula Student (小鸟体育FS) () is developing and constructing an electrical race car for amateur drivers to compete in the Formula Student Electric competition. The overall 小鸟体育FS team consists of over 70 小鸟体育 engineering and business students with engineering students, Adam Durning, Meg Brennan, Cathal Molloy Killeen and Daire McGrath took part in the 2019 小鸟体育 Start-Up Stars Programme.
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