Alex's Adventure - Nicole Ryan

Alex’s Adventure aims to educate post primary students on substance misuse and the real-life effects their choices have.

Nicole started Alex's Adventure after tragically losing her 18 year old brother to a synthetic drug overdose at a party. The tragedy motivated her to change the way young people learn about drugs, to provide unbiased and factual information in an age appropriate format to better inform young peoples’ decisions.

Nicole completed a BEng (Marine & Plant Engineering) at Cork Institute of Technology and a Diploma in Substance Misuse & Addiction Studies at UCC.

Allmin Resources Ireland Ltd - Alpa Agrawal

Allmin Resources Ireland Ltd is a chemical product development company that provides modified inorganic magnesium related products for different applications to wholesalers and retailers markets worldwide.

Alpa completed a B.Tech Chemical Engineering at the Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai, India and an MSc (Innovation, Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship) at UCC.

AnaBio Technologies Ltd - Dr Sinéad (Doherty) Bleiel

AnaBio Technologies Ltd provides micro-encapsulation expertise and contract manufacturing solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and animal health sectors. The company’s core technologies are patented for the stabilisation, protection and targeted release of sensitive ingredients.

Sinéad holds a BSc in Food Science from the University College Dublin, an MSc in Protein Chemistry from Michigan State University, USA and a PhD in Microencapsulation from UCC.

ApisProtect Ltd - Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy

ApisProtect Ltd uses unique, innovative technology to help beekeepers prevent losses and increase productivity in their hives.

Fiona holds a BE and PHd (Electrical & Electronic Engineering) from UCC. Her PhD research focused on applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (IoT) for honey bee health with Embedded Systems group in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and the School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (BEES) at University College Cork.

Bumblebee Flower Farm - Mags Riordan

Bumblebee Flower Farm is an ethical, sustainable flower farm that promotes and protects biodiversity by cultivating the most breathtakingly beautiful nectar rich blooms. Mags is qualified in horticulture, a professional florist and the leading expert on edible flowers in Ireland.

Mags completed a Diploma in Speciality Food Production at UCC.

Cardio Flourish - Kevin Murphy

Cardio Flourish is a web based platform which provides remote cardiac rehabilitation and allows for efficient monitoring between therapist and client, offering an alternative to institutional based cardiac rehab.

Kevin completed a BSc (Health&Leisure) at ITT.

CulturePro - Dr Marie-Therese Shortt

CulturePro is an online intercultural learning platform designed to improve employee communications, productivity and profit in multinational companies and teams.

Marie holds a PhD from the University for the Creative Arts/University of Brighton.

EziVein - Marie Casey

EziVein is a medical aid designed to enhance the visibility of a vein to reduce the time and trauma for a blood draw or IV cannulation in the 35% of patients who suffer from DVA (diffculty vein access).

Marie Casey is the CEO of McAS Design Ltd. She holds a BSc (Ind. Prod. Design), HDip (Occupational H&S) and MSc (Public Health) from University College Cork.

FASH Foward - Ailis Crowley

FASH Forward is on a mission to save one million items from landfill by 2030.  The company is networking with sustainability experts to host workshops for organisations to develop the necessary skills to repair, recycle and upcycle fashion items including clothes, footwear and jewellery.

Ailis completed a BComm and a PGC in Sustainability in Enterprise at UCC.

Inaza - Niall Crowley

Inaza is a connected data platform for insurance. Inaza's AI and real-time analytics systems for pay-as-you-go, temporary and embedded insurance creates the most flexible and risk-accurate pricing system on the market.

Niall completed a BSc (Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Science) at UCC.

LegitFit - Ryan O'Neill and Ian O'Sullivan

LegitFit was founded on the basis of one key ambition, to create a greater experience for both professionals and enthusiasts of the Health, Fitness & Wellness Industry. The business was developed on the basis of the founders' experience of the fitness industry, both as personal trainers and as consumers.

Ryan completed an MS (Management & Marketing) from UCC and Ian completed a BBus (Recreation and Leisure Management) from MTU.

Lovato Candles - Jason Hamilton-Foott

Lovato Candles is a luxury collection of Irish- made candles and other scented products that boast a contemporary, sophisticated design. The range is inspired by the beauty of nature of West-Cork and Jason's love of travel. 

Jason joined IGNITE in 2018 as an associate when completing the work placement element of his BComm. 

The Mind Mechanic - Emily Murphy

The Mind Mechanic is focused on finding solutions that can support Teenagers & their Parents when navigating the world of Mental Health.

Emily completed a Postgraduate Diploma (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) from UCC.

MobyShare - Abhay Raj

MobyShare is a car-sharing platform that connects people who need cars with those who have them. Their goal is to make transportation more accessible, affordable, and sustainable.

Abhay completed an MSc. in Design & Development of Digital Business at UCC.

ML Skills Academy - Cleidi Hearn

ML Skills Academy provides industry-focused machine learning (ML) training for tech professionals and career changers. The platform features hands-on courses, an interactive coding sandbox for real-world ML experiments, and AI-driven tutoring for personalized support. It offers comprehensive certification programs to equip individuals and organizations with practical, job-ready ML skills.

Cleidi holds a PGDip (Innovation through Design Thinking), HDip (Psychology), and a BSc (Philosophy).

Neurobell - Mark O'Sullivan

Neurobell is developing a diagnostic medical device for the early detection and monitoring of brain injuries in newborns.

Mark completed his PhD in the INFANT Research Centre and Embedded Systems Research Group in UCC as an IRC Postgraduate Scholar.

OnTheQT - Stephanie Lynch

OnTheQT.ie is an innovative multimedia content company that showcases and promotes off the beaten track locations in Ireland and abroad. Stephanie came up with the idea during a summer spent working in Cape Cod, USA, where she met great friends who showed her the hidden gems known only to the locals. She returned to Ireland determined to ensure that visitors here don’t miss out on Ireland’s hidden gems.

Stephanie completed a BA (TV, Radio & New Media Broadcasting) at the Institute of Technology Tralee.

PitSeal - Marion Cantillon

Pitseal is edible biofilm that replaces plastic sheeting in the silage process, reducing plastic waste and improving greenhouse gas emissions in farming and transforming farming into a more sustainable and eco friendly operation.

Marion completed a BSc (Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship) at UCC.

Portable Medical Technology Ltd - Kevin Bambury & Eoin O’Carroll

Portable Medical Technologies Ltd develops smartphone apps for specialist medical applications. The apps help to reduce medical errors, improve efficiencies and patient communication in clinical settings.

Their first product, ONCOAssist, a CE approved decision support application for oncology professionals, evolved from a project they completed as part of their MBS (E-Business) at UCC.

PrimaHealth - Danny McEnery

PrimaHealth is a trusted adolescent mental health care provider for teenagers aged 12-19 years.  PrimaHealth’s dedicated team of mental health professionals offer reliable online assessment and care nationwide, collaborating closely with parents when guiding adolescents through their challenges.

Danny completed a MA (Applied Psychology) at UCC. 

QuickMinutes - Danny O’Donovan

QuickMinutes provides a comprehensive committee management platform for large public and private sector organisations. Danny initially identified the need for a project management platform when he was President of the Students’ Union at Cork Institute Of Technology. QuickMinutes, with a specific focus on committee management, was developed from this original idea.

 Danny completed a BBus from Cork Institute Of Technology.

Sigma Nutrition - Danny Lennon

Sigma Nutrition is an online resource centre that provides coaches and advanced trainees/athletes with cutting-edge nutrition information. Clients have access to quality content, a screening tool to identify client needs, personalised nutrition plans, a Q&A forum and private consultancy sessions.

Danny completed a BSc (Biological & Physical Sciences) from the UL and an MSc (Nutritional Sciences) from UCC.

SigniFence - John Cal Kelleher

SigniFence is smart fencing solution that allows farmers to monitor and control electric fences from a smartphone. Frequent shocks and search and rescue operations at dawn led to John Cal Kelleher's idea for SigniFence. 

John completed a BSc (Physics and Maths) at UCC.

Supply.ie - Mike McGrath

Mike McGrath founded supply.ie in 2011 to link SMEs with local providers of general office supplies at competitive prices. At the core of the business is an online platform that allows SMEs to request quotes and suppliers to make offers.Mike has subsequently gone on to launch a procurement consultancy business, AVRO Procurement and Kwayga. 

Mike completed an MBS (E-commerce) at the National University of Ireland Galway and a BBS at UL.

TalentCen - Jerome Pan

TalentCen is a central hub that connects job seekers and companies in a dynamic, engaging, and innovative way. Moving away from the traditional resume system, TalentCen offers gamified assessments that make the process more interactive and provide a more accurate representation of a person’s skills and potential.

Jerome complete an MSc. in Information Systems for Business Performance at UCC.

Techvie - Conor Hayes

Techvie is a modern SaaS platform dedicated to the medical device industry, which allowing sales teams to find and convert new customers easily through aggregation of data from multiple online channels, & trade events.

Conor completed a BSc (Digital Technology, Design & Innovation) at DIT.

Telea - Clare Meskill

Telea is a software that links Speech Therapists and their clients to enable therapists to provide at-home speech therapy.

Clare completed a BSc (Speech and Language Therapy) at UCC.

Traxsit - Luke O'Mahony and Conor Walsh

Traxsit has developed an asset management solution that provides construction, agricultural and plant hire companies with remote visibility on the location of their assets.

Luke completed a BSc (Accounting) at UCC and Conor completed a BEng (Electronic Eng) at Cork Institute of Technology.

TrustAp - Conor Lyden

TrustAp is a platform that eliminates the risk of scams and fraud occurring in peer to peer transactions. The platform holds payments in escrow until goods have been received and validated.

 Conor holds a BE (Civil, Structural and Environmental Eng) from UCC.

TrustDish - Shannen O'Reilly

TrustDish addresses the alarming gap that exists in the current allergen management systems, ensuring the safety of customers with food allergies and intolerances. Their groundbreaking technology facilitates direct communication between allergen sufferers and food preparers allowing for hassle-free dining experiences.

Shannen completed a MSc (Food Business and Innovation) at UCC. 

Vconnecta - Brendan Finucane

Vconnecta is a mobile and cloud-based community engagement platform that provides real-time insights generated from data collected in the field. This helps businesses, organisations and community activists connect with, hear and respond to local communities.

 Vconnecta evolved from Brendan’s final year project completed as part of his BSc (Business Information Systems) at UCC.

Volta Robotics - Elvis Seporaitis

Volta Robotics is a company working with an automated process for disassembly, sorting, and repurposing EV batteries. 

Elvis completed an ME (Electrical & Electronics Engineering) from UCC.

UrAbility - James Northridge

UrAbility is reinventing the way parents and educators support children with disabilities, enhancing the learning experience with an online training and support model. UrAbility’s online platform uses algorithms to auto assign online courses and advise on assistive technologies based on users’ technical abilities, spoken language, and location.

James completed an MSc (Rehabilitation & Disability Studies) at UCD.

WiseWater - Katie McShane and Elaine Moynihan

WiseWater is an educational project designed for primary and post-primary students. Through engaging interactive activities and ​multisensory experiments, students discover the vital ​connection between preserving our water ​environment and nurturing our personal well-being. 

Elaine completed a MA (Sociology, Global Challenges & Sustainablity) and Katie completed a BA (Social Science).

Zirkulu- Jack Norman and Fionn McCarthy

Zirkulu builds technical gear based on the principles of the circular economy and strive to chart new territory in outdoor apparel.

Jack completed a BA (Economics) and an MSc (Management & Marketing) from UCC and Fionn completed a BA (Economics) from UCC.