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UCC teams finish in top three positions at IDEATE Ireland entrepreneurship competition
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Two teams from University College Cork (UCC) have been announced as first and second runners-up in the IDEATE Ireland entrepreneurship competition, held last week in Dublin.
The IDEATE Ireland competition promotes collaboration, connection, and mutual understanding across the island of Ireland through a shared passion for entrepreneurship and new venture development. Its mission is to uncover and empower the next generation of Irish entrepreneurs, helping them turn brilliant ideas into thriving international businesses.
The business competition provides participants with a unique opportunity to apply entrepreneurial principles in practice. Entrants must present an innovative product, service, or technology with global scalability, capable of generating international sales and creating employment.
Out of more than ninety applicants, ten standout teams were selected for a ten-week mentoring and support programme, competing for a total prize fund of €20,000. Among them were three UCC-based teams: Anestronic from Tyndall National Institute, and FemmeBiome and Alpaca Bio from APC Microbiome Ireland, a world leading Research Ireland Centre. Anestronic and FemmeBiome emerged victorious, finishing in second and third place respectively.
Anestronic is transforming the future of anaesthesia with its smart needle system, enhancing the safety and accuracy of ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks. By using real-time sensing to differentiate tissue types, it helps reduce serious risks such as intraneural injection, intravascular injection and nerve injuries, ultimately improving outcomes for both patients and clinicians.
Commenting on his team’s second-place finish, Dr Yineng Wang, Research Engineer along with other team members: Mr Javier Torres Sanchez (Senior Design Engineer) and Miss Edel Whelton (PhD Candidate), at Tyndall National Institute and Team Leader of Anestronic said: “It's fantastic to see not one – but two – UCC teams finishing in the top three of such a prestigious competition. The IDEATE Ireland programme provided us with a unique opportunity to apply our entrepreneurial principles, and we are very grateful for the experience.”
FemmeBiome is pioneering microbiome supplements tailored specifically for women’s health. With a mission to support women at every life stage, the team is creating scientifically backed solutions for some of the most underserved health needs. Their first product is a powerful synbiotic formulation designed to alleviate symptoms related to perimenopause and menopause, offering a targeted, gut-health-driven approach to hormonal wellbeing.
“We thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the IDEATE Ireland competition – it was a fantastic opportunity to learn from the creativity and hard work of fellow founders,” said Prof Siobhain O’Mahony, Senior Lecturer with the Department of Anatomy at UCC and co-founder of FemmeBiome, alongside Dr Eimear Gleeson. “Finishing in third place in such a competitive programme is something the FemmeBiome team is very proud of, and we’re grateful for the chance to be part of an initiative that celebrates the best in university innovation across Ireland.”