On Tuesday 18^th June five finalists on the SPARK programme, took part in a pitching competition for a chance to win  €1,000 student bursary to put toward the development of their new business. Congratulations to our overall winner, Evan Sullivan a final year student on the BSc (Hons.) Software Systems Development whose business ‘Giggly’ gave the judges something to smile about.  Giggly is an app (available on Google Play) that allows people to tell and share jokes anonymously. 

The judging panel spent an interesting morning with the finalists as they presented a range of ideas they had been working on.  The panel consisted of: Jacqui Gaule, Senior Enterprise Development Officer, Local Enterprise Office; Eugene Crehan, Director of New Frontiers Programme, SETU and Aidan Shine, CEO Propelor BIC.  They were impressed with the variety of initiatives and the level of effort that each of the presenters had demonstrated during their pitch. 

Contending for the prize money was John Kinsella, BSc in Sports and Recreation Management; Maxine Strain, MSc Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology; Aziel Zafar, Molecular Biology with Biopharmaceutical Sciences and Santiago Del Cas, Bachelor of Business in Sports and Recreation Management.  Ideas pitched on the day were a wellness and recovery hub, a swimming app, DHABA (Southeast Asian Cuisine) and a sustainable surfing initiative (greenswellinitiative.com). Well done to all who took part in the competition, and indeed to all students who attended the SPARK accelerator over the past 5 weeks.