You still have until December 1 to enter the Student Enterprise Award in the annual SCCUL awards. In its third year, this award is sponsored by Winters Property – Ireland’s largest private student accommodation operator. Past entrants have shown incredible innovation and winners have included a range of apps and devices to improve business productivity and save lives.
The 2015 winners were four students at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, who developed a device called ‘Sheep Tech’. This was a system to help farmers identify and control their breeding sheep flock, at the press of a button. Consisting of a handheld scanner, a tag which identified individual sheep and a lead which allows the farmer to connect the handheld device to the computer, Sheep Tech enables the farmer to read and access real time information on the flock, from the comfort of their home. The device was the brainchild of Dominick Gallagher, Liam Shaughnessy, Mark Hanniffy and Shane Canavan who developed the technology to assist farmers in complying with traceability legislation.
Another past winner includes a life-saving app called ‘Phone Buddy’. This app works on your mobile to monitor movement while driving. If an impact is detected, the app automatically sends an SMS to emergency services with the GPS co-ordinates of the phone.
The app was the brainchild of Gerard Nee, Alan O’ Connor, Paula Kelly and Aisling Kenny, who were inspired to come up with the idea after reading a newspaper article about a lady who died in a single vehicle accident.
Entries for the student awards have been coming into the SCCUL awards offices with the overall winner receiving a prize of €2,000 from Winters. Winters Property Management are the largest private student accommodation management company in Ireland. This award is just one of the ways in which Winters supports students on their journey throughout their college years and beyond.
“As the largest private operator of student accommodation in the country we are delighted to be involved in these awards. They showcase some of the best talent our 3rd Level Institutes have to offer and the array of new ideas is always amazing. It also provides us with a great opportunity to support some of our residents as they take their first steps in their careers,” said Enda McGuane, Managing Director, Winters Property Management.
Student award entries will be accepted until December 1, from individuals or teams of up to four members. For further information, email [email protected] or apply online at sccullawards.ie The awards take place at NUI Galway on January 29th, 2016.
