Sustainable clothing and a safer IUD among start-ups helped by UCC 

UCC flagship incubation programme Ignite recently secured a €1m Higher Education Authority (HEA) Award for exemplary performance and impact

Start-ups supported by University College Cork’s IGNITE programme presented their business ventures at its Autumn Showcase 2025 on Tuesday evening. IGNITE recently secured a €1 million Higher Education Authority (HEA) Award. Pictured are start-ups Isabelle Curran, Eliana Da Silva Monteiro, Sam O’Neill, Sarah O’Neill, David Hall, Katelyn Healy, Nadine Seward, Peter Fagan, Sam O’Neill, Zuhri Ajibola and Will Gunnarsson. Picture. John Allen

Technology to improve rowing athletes' performances, zero-waste clothing design, and a safer and more comfortable Intrauterine Device (IUD) were among the start-ups highlighted at this year’s University College Cork’s Ignite Autumn Showcase.

The third-level graduates supported by the university’s flagship incubation programme began working on their ideas this year and are hoping to develop them into a company with the assistance of IGNITE.

The 2025 Autumn Showcase follows Ignite’s recent success in securing a €1m Higher Education Authority (HEA) Award for exemplary performance and impact. 

The HEA evaluated Impact Assessment Case Studies, which were submitted by higher education institutions earlier this year, with Ignite emerging as one of five winning submissions.

Ignite is based in UCC and is open to anyone who has graduated from a third-level institution in recent years and has the passion and ambition to work on an idea that has the potential for economic, environmental or social impact.

The annual showcase gives participants an opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs and potential investors.

The programme has supported nearly 250 founders since it was established in 2011. The programme is a joint initiative by Cork City Council, Cork County Council, the Local Enterprise Offices of Cork City, South Cork and North and West Cork and UCC.

Eamon Curtin, Director of Ignite, said: “We are proud to support talented founders in developing their innovative business ideas into scalable and sustainable start-ups that deliver real social and economic value. 

"The HEA Award is testament to, not only the great work carried out by our community of entrepreneurs, but also to the support provided to us by the Local Enterprise Offices, Cork County Council, Cork City Council and Bank of Ireland, without whom the programme would not be possible.”