A course in Cork where students turn ideas into action

For most students, the end of exams is a time to relax and forget about university for a few months.

But for those who secure a place on the Student Inc. programme, the summer looks very different. They face into a challenging but rewarding 13 weeks that can change their lives.

Student Inc. is a full-time summer accelerator open to students from every discipline and every year of study.

It began in 2013, when just three students from the then CIT took part. The idea was simple: encourage students who had developed a new product as part of their studies to take the next step and see if they could turn it into a business.

Every year, thousands of students across Irish universities develop projects as part of their coursework, be it software, food products or medical devices, and much more. Once the module is complete, most of those ideas are set aside.

That’s where Student Inc. comes in. By placing students in an environment designed to support start-ups, the programme gives them the chance to properly assess the commercial potential of their ideas.

In 2025, 75 students completed the programme across the country. MTU participants were based at the Rubicon and Tom Crean incubation centres in Cork and Kerry, while students from nine partner universities were based in 11 other campus incubators nationwide.

They came from 40 different courses, from first-year undergraduates to PhD students.

Half had science and engineering backgrounds, which meant areas like marketing and business planning were completely new to them.

The expansion of Student Inc. has been driven by Ireland’s network of campus incubation centres.

Many students approach incubators for support, but unless they are research-focused, there are few formal supports available. Student Inc. fills that gap.

The format is similar to New Frontiers, the national entrepreneurial development programme for ambitious early-stage entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas, where students receive training, mentoring, office space, and €4,000 in seed funding.

But it is a full-time commitment - their ‘job’ for the summer. For many, the biggest adjustment is realising that Student Inc. isn’t a college course. They have to work independently and take responsibility for driving their ideas forward.

One of the toughest requirements comes in the first six weeks: each student must carry out 40 customer discovery interviews. Cold-calling strangers to ask about their business idea is daunting, but it is also transformative.

This stage isn’t about validating their solution, but about proving there is a real problem worth solving.

Many students pivot their ideas entirely based on what they hear.

Throughout the summer, students collaborate and support each other, drawing on their diverse academic backgrounds. It becomes a melting pot of ideas, perspectives, and experiences.

The programme culminates in a showcase - in 2025 it was held in the MTU Arena - where, for many, it was the first time meeting face-to-face after 13 weeks of working largely online.

The outcomes speak for themselves. Several students from the 2025 programme progressed to New Frontiers. In Cork alone, four Student Inc. alumni completed the Enterprise Ireland-backed programme at the Rubicon Centre with ideas ranging from an air fryer cookie product to a home economics subscription service, to an innovative cryptocurrency platform, and a carers’ platform for dementia support.

Others return to their studies, continuing to develop their projects, while some decide entrepreneurship isn’t for them. But that doesn’t mean they have failed. The skills they gain from validating and pitching to pivoting and collaborating are invaluable in any career.

In 2025, Student Inc. also introduced a Creative stream, led by IADT, which opened the programme to students from creative disciplines across all nine partners. This reflects the programme’s scalability as it can be rolled out on any campus, across any sector.

The real success of Student Inc. lies in the ecosystems on Ireland’s university campuses. Incubators provide the space, expertise, and access to research and prototyping support that enable students to thrive.

Every year, I am astounded by the transformation in some participants. They turn challenges into opportunities, ideas into action, and lessons into life-long skills.

Student Inc. may not turn every student into an entrepreneur, but it does something just as valuable: it shows them what is possible when they are given the right support, the right environment, and the belief that their ideas are worth pursuing.