UCC's first ever Innovation Week will take place from April 15th - 19th 2024. The aim of Innovation Week is to showcase some of the excellent innovations from across the UCC ecosystem, and to encourage UCC students, graduates, and researchers alike to think about the different ways that their ideas and research can be transformed to create economic and societal impact.

International Women’s Day takes place today (March 8^th). The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion, emphasising the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society.

To mark International Women’s Day this year, UCC Innovation are proud to showcase three women within our UCC Innovation ecosystem, who Inspire Inclusion through their innovative endeavours.

Today is International Women’s Day. The campaign theme 2024 is Inspire Inclusion, emphasising the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society. To mark International Women’s Day, UCC Innovation is showcasing three women within the UCC Innovation ecosystem, who Inspire Inclusion through their innovative endeavours.

Shannen O’ Reilly is CEO and Co-Founder at TrustDish, and former IGNITE participant. Shannen grew up working in food retail in her family business. This inspired her love for business and wanting to pursue an undergraduate in Commerce.

As International Women’s Day 2024 comes to a close, we speak to CEO of Rethink Ireland and UCC Entrepreneur in Residence, Deirdre Mortell about how she Inspires Inclusion through her innovative endeavours.

Rethink Ireland was created by the Irish Government, and launched by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny in 2016. Deirdre was involved in the social innovation charity from the offset, putting together the market opportunity and business plan, and raising funds to get it off the ground.  

• In line with the University’s strategic goal of developing an innovative culture and entrepreneurial campus, UCC’s Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) programme will support the University in promoting and encouraging entrepreneurial activity among UCC staff, students and graduates.
• UCC has developed and is nurturing an entrepreneurial ecosystem that aims to encourage, create and support fifty new ventures in the next two years.

The second national deep tech partner opportunity platform (POP), took place recently in Cork to create top class start-up teams. 

At this exclusive invite-only event, dubbed Ireland’s “Davos for Deep Tech”, Ireland’s State-funded deep tech research institutes pooled their top venture scientists to meet with Ireland’s most seasoned executives and entrepreneurs.  

As part of our Innovation in Action in UCC series, we have been speaking to the Quercus Innovation and Entrepreneurship scholars about their experience of entrepreneurship as a third level student and the supports available for budding entrepreneurs in UCC. The Quercus Talented Students’ Programme supports and promotes excellence in academia, sport, creative and performing arts, active citizenship, and innovation/entrepreneurship. Quercus awards up to three scholarships each year to students registered on an undergraduate/level 8 programme, who demonstrate an exceptional level of excellence in the innovation and/or entrepreneurial space.