Budding entrepreneurs win big at MTU awards

Cork students have been honoured at a Munster Technological University (MTU) award ceremony which took place on March 27 at the Bishopstown Campus.

The annual Prize for Innovation Showcase awards cash prizes to budding student entrepreneurs whose inventions and business ideas demonstrate creativity, novelty, and strong potential for market success.

The competition, now in its 24th year, is sponsored by the Cork and Kerry Local Enterprise Offices.

With a prize fund of €14,500, this year’s competition attracted more than 270 students across a wide range of disciplines, forming 78 teams or individual applications across MTU’s six campuses in Cork and Kerry.

The top prize of €4,000 and the prestigious title of MTU Entrepreneur of the Year was awarded to a team of third-year students from MTU’s Bishopstown campus for their solution for tuberculosis (TB) prevention in cattle.

Their product, ‘TBGuard’, protects cattle by preventing badger access to water or feeding troughs, and was developed under the guidance of Ian O’Sullivan, MTU lecturer in the Department of Process, Energy and Transport Engineering.

Carole O’Leary, regional programme manager for third level student entrepreneurship at MTU, praised the winners: “TBGuard is a perfect example of how the talent and ingenuity of our students can deliver practical, real-world solutions to significant challenges in the agricultural sector. 

"It’s inspiring to see all these young innovators applying their skills to make a genuine difference, not just locally but potentially on a global scale."

The award for Best Business Opportunity Award and prize of €1,500 went to the creators of ‘Sprout Smart Spreader’, which tackles leaching and run-off associated with traditional slurry and fertiliser methods.

This year’s Best Concept Award and €1,500 prize money was shared by two teams for their novel concepts, ‘Nest’ and ‘Librelle’.

Nest is a non-invasive breast cancer detection and prevention tool, while Librelle is an extraction tool that breaks up scar tissue in a safe manner.