Last month our Programmes Associate Gearoid Kearney ran the first ever NDRC Startup Sprint, powered by the RDI Hub. Located in the University of Limerick it was an incredible day. From 10am to 5.30pm, the energy in the building was electric. We had 14 teams come up with ideas and develop prototypes during the day with the support of mentors. It was amazing to see the creativity and innovation shown by the participants. This was evident when they demonstrated their prototypes to our esteemed judges in the evening.
Winners: ‘Most Innovation’ category was won by Sightline Insights – who created an AI system for sentiment analysis for customers and ‘Most Progress’ category was won by VirTown who created a learning tool for teaching maths to children.
Stephen Kinsella, Professor of Economics KBS & Co-Director of Immersive Software Engineering, University of Limerick described this as: “An incredible opportunity to connect our most ambitious students to those interested in entrepreneurship and innovation in our community.”
Gearoid Kearney, Programmes Associate at the RDI hub added “The RDI Hub is delighted to bring the NDRC Startup Sprint to Limerick, providing a vibrant setting for innovators to turn their ideas into prototypes and to connect with the thriving tech ecosystem in the region.”
Interested in future hackathon events? RDI hub will be running a Founder Weekend in February. Turn your idea into reality with our mentors and expertise. Reach out to Programmes Associate Gearoid Kearney to express interest in this or upcoming events at gearoid.kearney@rdihub.com
______________________________________________________________
The RDI Hub is a not-for-profit Public Private Partnership with Fexco, Kerry County Council and Munster Technological University. Situated in Killorglin, Co Kerry, it is a €21 million investment, led by Fexco, that has transformed Kerry into a globally connected technology innovation, enterprise, and skills hotspot. It is also one of the main hubs for the National Digital Research Centre, the national startup accelerator programme for globally ambitious tech entrepreneurs in Ireland. It is supported by the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation’s Regional Enterprise Development Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland, which has played a significant role in the hub’s development.
The RDI Hub has a keen focus on training and upskilling, enabling a multitude of startups, corporates and SMEs in the Southwest to grow & scale through dedicated workshops and programmes such as Sales strategy, Creative Problem Solving for teams, Leadership, Embracing AI for Marketing & more. The core proposition at the RDI hub is about creating new products, services and jobs in the region. In order to achieve this, they provide a range of services & supports to encourage people to join the ecosystem, become part of the RDI hub community, and come together to create a co-innovation space where startups, corporates and SMEs can work together and thrive.
About the NDRC:
The NDRC is the national startup accelerator programme for globally ambitious tech entrepreneurs in Ireland. Their mission is to help startups succeed at every point of their journey through coaching and mentoring, with a founder-first approach delivered by international experts.
It believes that Ireland can be globally great at entrepreneurship, reaching the top 5 by 2030 as a leader in building internationally scalable tech startups. Its approach is entrepreneur-led and founder-first, led by international experts who have already succeeded and failed at startups.
The NDRC offers practical, hands-on mentorship and support from seasoned founders to help globally ambitious entrepreneurs build and grow their business.
It is locally embedded across Ireland’s ecosystem, partnering with best-in-class innovation hubs across the regions of Ireland. Its hubs in Cork (Republic of Work), Galway (Portershed), Kerry (RDI hub) and Dublin (Dogpatch Labs) interact with other local hubs, universities and incubators to bring greater access to entrepreneurial support to every county in Ireland.
