News Release
The World At Their Uberfeet
Ciara Jordan, Lisa Donnell and Aisling O'Neill celebrate Uberfeet's success
Pic: Daragh Mac Sweeney/Provision
Students from the University of Ulster took top prize this week at the Student Enterprise Awards, Ireland’s premier higher education business enterprise showcase.
Aisling O’Neill, Lisa Donnell, Amanda Nesbitt and Ciara Jordan beat off competition from hundreds of third level students across Ireland with their business proposal Uberfeet, scooping the £8,000 prize and title of College Entrepreneurs of the Year.
The Student Enterprise Awards – held this year in Cork – are Ireland’s largest and most prestigious student enterprise competition boasting a total prize fund of £50,000.
Uberfeet is a new product designed to help women have a comfortable journey after wearing painful shoes. It is sold in a package comprising of a pair of light-weight disposable shoes with a re-usable bag to carry the work shoes in. The product is unique due to its inexpensive, disposable aspect.
Aisling said; “ We were really shocked when we won the award. I’d thought we were complete underdogs. Even when they called out our names, we didn’t quite believe it!”
Once they come down from their high, the Uberfeet team will be taking advice on how to move their project forward, Aisling said. Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys have added the prize of a consultancy service to the value of up to €20,000 for all the winners to aid the students to patent and protect the intellectual property arising from their projects.
Donal O’Connor, Senior Partner of award sponsors Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys, said:
“We believe it is vital to encourage our students to explore entrepreneurship as a viable career option, as these students present today represent the future of our economy. It's crucial that we as a country recognise the importance of innovation and intellectual property. It is for this reason that we are offering the winning team ‘Uberfeet’ a mentorship programme, through which we hope to demonstrate how, with the right support, a strong business idea can become a marketable reality”.
The Uberfeet team has already received an expression of interest from firms interested in commercialising their product idea, said Aisling.
“We could not be more proud of the girls, they are exceptional students who are passionate about their product and work well together as a team,” said Fred Scharf, Module Coordinator.
“We knew that if they made it through to the presentation stage, that the judges would be impressed," he said.
“‘Überfeet’ had already won the Department's ‘Business Start’ competition, but this is the first time that we have entered a team in the All Ireland awards - and to win it at our first attempt was beyond our wildest dreams”, added lecturer Chris McLean.
Head of Department Barry Quinn said: “The girls are due to graduate this year - and they will have the world at their Überfeet.”
“Our Department puts great emphasis on developing enterprise skills and this award has been the result of a lot of hard work on the part of students and staff alike, congratulations to all concerned.”
On their route to success the girls have received tremendous support and encouragement from a variety of sources and are keen to thank the Causeway Enterprise Agency, the Northern Ireland Centre from Entrepreneurship (NICENT), Invest NI and the staff of the University’s Learning Resource Centre for all their help.
NICENT Director Una McMahon-Beattie said: “This is fantastic news. This award recognises the enterprising spirit of our students here at Ulster. I hope it will encourage more students to come forward with their ideas to us at NICENT where we can help them bring business savoir-faire to their entrepreneurial flair and creativity.”
Brendan Flood, Manager, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Enterprise Ireland said:
“The Enterprise Ireland Student Enterprise Awards play a vital role in promoting and harnessing the research, innovation and entrepreneurial capability within our third level institutions. The Awards create an important opportunity for third level students to work in cross-disciplinary teams, thereby enabling a significant and much needed fusion between the disciplines of Business, Science, Engineering and IT..”
Graham Davis, Invest NI’s Director of Regional Economic Development, said: “The high standard of candidates at this years Student Enterprise Awards is testimony to the wealth of innovative and commercial talent that exists amongst our students. Invest NI is committed to nurturing this talent by giving young entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop their creative business ideas into highly competitive export focused businesses. By encouraging a greater culture of enterprise amongst our young people, we can help secure a more prosperous economy in the future.”
For further information, please contact:
David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young
