2014 Press Releases
Students represent Ireland in Montreal
Four postgraduate students from UCC, with the support of KPMG, represented Ireland at the International Graduate Competition at the HEC Business School Montreal during the May bank holiday weekend.
UCC was one of only nine third level institutions selected globally to compete in the finals of the prestigious event. The highly selective field included teams from Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil and the USA.
The UCC team was made up of:
- Éabha O’Leary Fitzpatrick, from Killavullen Co Cork, an MSc Student (Innovation) specialising in Entrepreneurship. During her undergraduate studies, she was awarded the President’s Letter of Excellence for her academic performance, her final year project earned her a Highly Commended Award at the Undergraduate Awards. Éabha has been very involved in volunteer work, earning a President’s Volunteer award at the University of Limerick. She is a member of a team that was recently shortlisted for the UCC Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year 2014.
- Darragh McCarthy from Caheragh, West Cork, is an MSc Student (Innovation), specialising in Management. He is also studying for a Certificate in Chinese. More recently, he was a member of a team shortlisted for the UCC Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year 2014.
- Gavin McMahon from Cappoquin, Co Waterford, is an MSc Student (Innovation) specialising in Finance. He has founded several companies and has recently been shortlisted for Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year, as well as reaching the final of the UCC Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
- Stephen Stokes from Listowel, Co.Kerry, is a PhD Student (Chemistry) specialising in Marketing. He also teaches part-time at the Centre of Talented Youth, DCU and volunteered with the Peer Assisted Learning Programme in UCC for three years. He has presented his research at numerous national and international conferences to date, winning 3rd prize at the Eli Lilly Symposium in 2013.
The team was coached by Dr John O’Donoghue, a successful entrepreneur and UCC graduate who holds a BSc and PhD in Chemistry. Dr. O’Donoghue is originally from Listowel, Co. Kerry, and has won multiple local and national awards for his research, printed media, PR, marketing, radio and leadership. In 2013 he appeared on Dragon’s Den Ireland and won a large investment to build his company, Rewrite Science, from the ground up. In the same year he also won a scholarship from Enterprise Ireland to complete the national Entrepreneurship Development Programme, New Frontiers, which is an intensive 12-month business training course. More recently he was a finalist at the Cork Innovates Bursary Competition and he was also awarded the contract to run the successful NASA Space Apps Challenge in Ireland.
During their time in Montreal, the team met the President of the Irish-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in Montreal, Vivian Doyle-Kelly, the President of the Montreal St. Patricks Society, Paul Dunne and the Irish Consulate, Michael Kenneally. The UCC team were also joined by the Coach of the University of Rochester Team from New York, David Tilson, who is originally from Belfast.
The team from UCC was selected through a rigorous process to find the best in Finance, Entrepreneurship, Management, Marketing and Leadership. The team members worked through four interrelated business cases to identify and address issues involving international entrepreneurship, marketing at various levels of business, human resources and management structure, and finances.