StudentVolunteer.ie Shortlisted for National THINKTECH Award

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An online volunteering resource developed by a Lorraine Tansey has been shortlisted for THINKTECH, a €1 million project to grow ideas for a better Ireland. StudentVolunteer.ie, which connects students and community groups, charities, schools, hospitals, public bodies and NGOs across Ireland, was co-founded by Salthill native Lorraine Tansey. In total, 11 finalists will compete for access to an award fund of up to €750,000 in grants as well as support and mentoring to further develop their social innovations.

The finalists will take part in a development programme devised by Social Innovation Fund Ireland and supported by Google.org, with the overall award recipients announced in December at an awards ceremony at Google’s EMEA HQ in Dublin.Studentvolunteer.ie aims to become the one stop shop for matching students with volunteering opportunities. The online platform is currently rolled out across a number of third level institutions in Ireland. Once registered, the site offers students volunteer opportunities. In addition to this the platform provides students with information on their volunteering activities.

Lorraine Tansey, a Co-Founder of Studentvolunteer.ie said, “StudentVolunteer.ie is delighted to have made it to this stage of the THINKTECH Selection process. We are currently at a pivotal stage in our work, the THINKTECH programme would provide expert knowledge on development and business strategy that would set our project up for successful expansion.”Director of Google.org, Jacquelline Fuller said: “We see great potential for these ideas to make a lasting impact and they also demonstrate Google’s view that technology has the power to make a real difference and create positive change in society”.

The short-listed finalists will now present their proposals to an interview panel made-up of business and social sector leaders in Dublin this week. This will be followed by a Finalists’ Workshop on Thursday, September 29^th, in Dublin, with sessions from technology entrepreneur and investor Shane Deasy, and digital business experts from Google.