2013 Press Releases
€10,000 fund on offer for budding UCC entrepreneurs
The search for the next Mark Zuckerberg is on, with the launch of the UCC University Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and a tempting prize pot of €10,000.
UCC students with an entrepreneurial flair could secure a share in one of the following prizes, should they demonstrate to the judges that their business idea for a commercial product or service is viable, feasible and well researched:
- €5,000 - University Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- €2,000 - Most Technologically Innovative Idea
- €2,000 - Emerging and Dynamic Award
- €1,000 - Two Merit awards
Up to six UCC students per team are permitted and cross-disciplinary teams are encouraged.
In launching the Awards, Professor Anita Maguire, Vice President for Research and Innovation, UCC, says: “This prestigious award will encourage our students to consider ways in which their acquired skills, knowledge and know-how can create economic value. It will enhance the entrepreneurial culture within UCC, complementing UCC’s strategy of being a premier European university for research, discovery, innovation and commercialisation. UCC excels in high-quality research across many disciplines, while students at all levels in the university gain a wide variety of technologies and skills.”
The awards are coordinated by multiple UCC stakeholders, including the UCC Entrepreneurial and Social Society (E&S), the College of Business and Law, IGNITE (UCC's Graduate Business Innovation Incubation Centre) and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.
Welcoming the campus-wide initiative, Professor Irene Lynch-Fannon, Head of the College of Business and Law, comments: “The College of Business and Law is playing a significant role in entrepreneurship education within UCC, providing greater accessibility to business development education across the university. A high-quality business plan competition validates this education and I would encourage any UCC student with a good business or research idea to enter this worthwhile contest.”
Generously sponsored by Bank of Ireland, Accenture, the Cork City & County Enterprise Boards, the College of Business and Law, the UCC Entrepreneurial and Social Society (E&S) and Enterprise Ireland, the UCC Entrepreneur of the Year Awards has a prize fund of €10,000. The short-listed finalists will also receive coaching from Accenture Ireland.
Closing dates for entries is noon on 1st March 2013, with an awards ceremony to follow on the 14th March 2013. Entrants must be a currently registered UCC student, and be available to attend the Accenture pitching boot camp on the 8th March 2013, if shortlisted.
Further details and applications forms are available from: http://www.ucc.ie/en/uey/
For further information, please contact Dr Brian O'Flaherty Programme Director MBS(BIS) & MSc(ICE) Business Information Systems, on Tel: + 353 21 4903335 or Email: boflaherty@afis.ucc.ie