IGNITE Award Winners Named
25th June 2015
This year’s IGNITE Awards and Showcase celebrated the progress and achievements to date of the 16 recent graduates, working on 11 business start-ups, who participated in the 2014/15, nine month IGNITE Graduate Business Innovation Programme marking an important milestone with the completion of the fifth phase of the successful entrepreneurial programme.
The awards were made based on presentations participants gave to the judging panel of business people at Bank of Ireland’s Regional Headquarters on the South Mall. The judging panel was made up of Diarmuid Lynch, Flagship Manager at Bank of Ireland, 32 South Mall; John Fuller, Associate Solicitor, J.W. O’Donovan; Seamus Downey, Taxation Director, EY; and Orla Rimmington, Partner at Kernel Capital.
The top award, the Bank of Ireland/ IGNITE Business of the Year Award 2015, was presented to Bitcove founders, UCC graduates and brothers James and Peter Nagle.
Two further awards were made in recognition of business planning and innovation. The EY/ IGNITE Business Plan Award was presented to Dr Eileen Weadick (pictured), founder of <eXtensicon>. Eileen, a UCD PhD graduate, is developing online Competency Based Education (CBE) programmes in technical communications.
The J.W. O’Donovan Solicitors/ IGNITE Innovation Award went to UCC MBS (Business Information Systems) graduate, Peter Marcano, founder of Key, who demonstrated the most innovative use of technology to deliver his service. Peter was also winner of the IGNITE Peer Award, the only award voted on by the IGNITE 2015 participants, which recognises the spirit of cooperation, leadership and entrepreneurial ability demonstrated throughout the programme.
Rebecca Geaney, Muireann Lynch and Cait Lynch, co-founders of Rooties Snacks, received the IGNITE 2015 Showcase Award for presenting the most effective showcase display.
