UCC autumn showcase promotes its start-ups

Technology to improve rowing athletes’ performances and a safer, more comfortable intrauterine device (IUD) were among the start-ups highlighted at this year’s University College Cork (UCC) Ignite autumn showcase.

The third-level graduates, supported by the university’s flagship incubation programme, began working on their ideas this year and are hoping to develop them in to a company with the assistance of Ignite.

The 2025 Autumn Showcase follows Ignite’s recent success in securing a €1m Higher Education Authority (HEA) award for exemplary performance and impact. The HEA evaluated impact-assessment case studies that were submitted by higher-education institutions earlier this year, and Ignite emerged as one of five winning submissions.

Ignite is based at UCC and is open to anyone who has graduated from a third-level institution in recent years and has the passion and ambition to work on an idea that has the potential for economic, environmental, or social impact.

The annual showcase gives the Ignite participants an opportunity to network with other Ignite and potential investors.

Ignite has supported nearly 250 founders since it was established in 2011 through the programme, a joint initiative by Cork City Council, Cork County Council, the Local Enterprise Offices of Cork City, South Cork and North and West Cork and University College Cork.

Eamon Curtin, director of Ignite, said: “We are proud at Ignite to support talented founders in developing their innovative business ideas in to scalable and sustainable start-ups that deliver real social and economic value.

“The HEA Award is testament to not only the great work carried out by our community of entrepreneurs, but also to the support provided to us by the local enterprise offices, Cork County Council, Cork City Council, and Bank of Ireland, without whom the programme would not be possible.”

Among the 14 start-ups currently supported by UCC’s Ignite Start-Up Incubation Programme are Roteq, founded by Will Gunnarson and Sam O’Neill, which empowers rowing athletes to reach their full potential by providing actionable insights in to their performance; and Elithiya, founded by Isabelle Curran, a women’s health innovation focused on redesigning the IUD experience.