News

Celebrating student entrepreneurs Start100 showcase allows students to pitch investible ideas and innovations

IdeasLab, the entrepreneurial and innovation hub at University of Galway, has announced ICTUS Medical and IRIS as the inaugural Start100 winners for 2022. 

ICTUS Medical received the overall award for Start100, with IRIS receiving the One to Watch award.

Nine teams of students presented at a special showcase event bringing their innovative ideas to a panel of judges from the worlds of academia, research, industry and enterprise after an intensive six week programme hosted by IdeasLab.

IdeasLab launched their new student incubator programme, Start100 earlier this year. Start100 helps students with an early-stage concept to transform their ideas into potentially investible innovations. 

The Start100 programme provides physical space, key networking opportunities, expert mentorship from alumni and enterprise, as well as a support fund of over €40,000. Students have access to funds to research and develop their idea throughout the programme and have the chance to win a final event prize fund to kick-start their innovation journey. 

Start100 offers students the opportunity to connect with expert mentors and speakers spanning sectors including medical devices, creative production, agritech, consumer technology and wellbeing. 

The programme has connected students into the thriving community of innovators and entrepreneurs in the West of Ireland, including BioInnovate Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Westbic, Galway City Innovation District and the Local Enterprise Offices and has been supported by companies in the region including Mbroynics, Boston Scientific, Aerogen, Medtronic, SAP, Galway International Arts Festival, Channel Mechanics, Veryan and Orreco.

President of University of Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh launched the showcase event.

“At University of Galway, our values - respect, openness, excellence and sustainability - are what define us and more importantly we strive to see them become not just words but actions and deeds. Supporting students on a journey of societal impact through enterprising ideas is part of that mission for the public good. It’s a great encouragement to see young people finding solutions to problems through innovation, ideas and solutions and also to see them being supported in that journey by our educators, our university community, and our civic and business networks,” Professor Ó hÓgartaigh said.

ICTUS Medical is spearheaded by Peter Best-Lydon and Ciarán McDermott. Peter, a Galway native and recently graduated University of Galway Biomedical Engineering student, and Ciarán, an University of Galway Electronic Engineering final year student, are developing a painless monitoring device that empowers stroke survivors to take control of their health by detecting sleeping strokes. 

Speaking on behalf of ICTUS Medical Peter Best-Lydon said: “We are absolutely delighted to win. Start100 has been a massive help to us with all of the connections that we have made. There is a buzz every week in IdeasLab and it was great to get a sense of working in a start-up. We are really looking forward to making a significant impact to the patient.’’

The One to Watch prize was awarded to IRIS, which was co-founded by Keelan Rowley and Michael Dillon, both recent graduates of University of Galway’s BSc in Project and Construction Management. IRIS is a safety device that helps detect the presence of people and animals from machinery like Tractors, Diggers, Dumpers. A cost effective device that saves lives and families. Winning this award will allow Michael and Keelan to focus on prototyping and validating their idea. 

The difficult decision of selecting the most investable idea was made by a diverse judging panel representing some of Irelands best and brightest entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and academics. The panel for the final showcase included: Dr Helen McBreen, Partner Atlantic Bridge; Professor Michelle Millar, Dean of Students at University of Galway; Dr Paul Dodd, Vice President Engagement, University of Galway; Dr Vanessa Creaven Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Spotlight Oral Care; and Finn Hegarty, Co-Founder and Chief Procurement Officer at GloFox, and University of Galway graduate.  

Dr Natalie Walsh, Director of Entrepreneurial Development at University of Galway, said: “In recent years, we have seen some fantastic student entrepreneurs create global businesses in the west of Ireland.  Through Start100 we now have a platform to support more students to achieve this type of success through the creation of commercial and social enterprises. Start100 is the first student incubator to launch in the University, designed with former and current students, our alumni and enterprise partners, we are incredibly proud to see Start100 come to life on our campus.”

A summary of nine projects showcased at the event included:

I Said Speak - An information awareness video that delves into Ireland’s drink culture among students 

Receipt Relay - A customer insights software for retail and hospitality chains using point of sale and consumer app integrations

IRIS - A safety device that helps detect the presence of people and animals from farm machinery – saving lives and families

Matán Marketing - Digital marketing for gyms

Scrunch-UP - An anti-spike scrunchie for university students

ThoughtGarden – Self-administered CBT mobile game to reduce anxiety and depression

DataPals.io - A data-driven e-commerce agency that builds and optimises high-performance Shopify stores

Struts.app - An application that facilitates the remote capture of patient's foot scan data using just a smart phone

ICTUS Medical - A painless monitoring device that empowers stroke survivors to take control of their health by detecting sleeping strokes

For more information on Start100 see our Start100 programme page