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Workplace safety, educational accessibility and sustainable design highlighted at start-up event
Entrepreneurial talent celebrated at IGNITE Awards and Showcase at UCC.
Developing solutions to challenges in workplace safety, educational accessibility and sustainable design were among the start-ups celebrated at an event at University College Cork (UCC) yesterday evening. The IGNITE Awards and Showcase featured 20 founders and student entrepreneurs highlighting the diversity of entrepreneurial talent emerging from the higher education sector.
IGNITE is an incubation programme based at UCC and has supported almost 250 founders since its establishment in 2011.
The finalists were selected to pitch their businesses to an audience of business leaders and investors at the awards and showcase event.
- Nadine Seward, founder of SafeSite Solutions, an immersive virtual reality training platform designed to improve safety awareness on construction sites and help reduce workplace injuries and fatalities through realistic, hands-on training experiences.
- Sam Dunning and Ula Dudek, co-founders of MathMate, a maths learning platform aligned with the Irish Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate curriculum, incorporating step-by-step learning supports and accessibility tools to help students build confidence and improve outcomes.
- Sarah O'Neill, founder of SarahOrmondONeill, an experimental fashion designer, combining designs inspired by Irish heritage, and manufactured from reclaimed materials.
Nadine Seward of SafeSite Solutions was awarded Best Business and Sam Dunning and Ula Dudek of MathMate received the Best Business Plan Award,
IGNITE is a joint initiative of University College Cork, Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the Local Enterprise Offices of Cork City, South Cork and North & West Cork.
Kevin Curran, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office, Local Enterprise Office Cork North & West and member of the IGNITE Awards Adjudication Panel said: "The quality and ambition of the businesses showcased this year demonstrates the extraordinary entrepreneurial talent that exists among students and recent graduates. The finalists have developed innovative solutions that address real challenges and create meaningful social, environmental and economic value."
Eamon Curtin, Director of Start-Ups and Entrepreneurship at University College Cork, said: "IGNITE has grown significantly since its launch in 2011 and we are grateful to our partners and supporters who continue to invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs. Together, we are helping to build a stronger pipeline of innovative, high-growth businesses from Cork."
Applications are now open for the next cohort of the IGNITE programme in January. The programme is open to recent graduates from any third-level institution who have the ambition to develop a business with the potential to deliver significant economic, environmental or social impact. For more information, see the IGNITE website.