Now in its fifth year, ENFUSE matches local SMEs, micro-enterprises and social enterprises with teams of Masters' level university or college students. Teams develop and present plans to their allocated enterprises to implement and to their lecturer to assess, outlining ways for businesses to address challenges they face and develop competitive opportunities to expand.
10 student teams competed in this years finals by pitching to expert industry judges on the plans they produced. The shortlisted teams were selected from a total of 57 that entered ENFUSE 2023.
NCI’s finalists, Carlos Herrera, Taylou Maniganze, Rashi Dabhane, Abhishek Gupte and Ankit Verma. supervised by Dr Anu Sahni & Dr Michael Bradford, worked with EPN Consulting, Reasearch and Innovation, which carries out Research & Innovation activities on Smart & Sustainable Transport, Smart Cities, Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience, and Circular Economy. The MSc in Artificial Intelligence students used Data Analytics, Machine Learning, AI, & Web Development to build a dashboard that clearly displays insights on carbon emissions drawn from multiple datasets, and can predict future transport use, waste recycling etc. – important work towards combating climate change.
The initiative is led by the council and Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Dublin City in collaboration with TU Dublin, DCU, NCI, UCD and TCD. It is also supported by a number of regional stakeholders and aligned to the ambitions of the Dublin Regional Enterprise Plan 2023.
Speaking on the night of the awards, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary said: “ENFUSE drives innovation and collaboration. It exemplifies local stakeholders working together to understand challenges and collaborating on solutions.
"As part of ENFUSE, enterprises benefit from research and new ideas, students benefit from an enhanced learning experience and the ecosystem benefits through improved networking, collaboration and knowledge exchange."
Cllr Claire Byrne commented: “ENFUSE brings together enterprises and students, inspiring and fusing both parties for mutual benefit. This year, 57 enterprises have received tangible plans to help them innovate, address challenges and develop opportunities while 301 students developed their skills and learning."
Greg Swift, head of LEO Dublin City, added that the competition allow the LEO to "tangibly support local enterprises and also promote the benefits of hiring graduate students who are well placed to support the digital and green transitions, amongst other challenges a business may face.
"Availing of the GradStart or other LEO grants can assist businesses to hire graduates in these or other areas where they may lack specific skills and expertise.”
Congratulations to last night's winners -
1st Place Roisin Ní Aibhistín, Gearoidín Mhic Mhathúna, Dearbháile Ní Fhionaill, Aoibheann Uí Dhochartaigh
Client enterprise POTA Cafe
Lecturer Dr. Emer Ní Bhrádaigh
University/college DCU
2nd Place Sophie Wood, Amit Moreshwarrao Baporikar, Shane Bresnan, Sneha Raji Jacob, Pooja Panikumar, Akshay Pramod Shinde
Client enterprise XO Tile
Lecturer Joe Houghton
University/college UCD
3rd Place Maria-Jasmine Adekanmbi, Emmanuelle Brucci, Aditya Dubey, Mariana Vasutova
Client enterprise Crann
Lecturer Dr Jennifer Lawlor, Dr Deirdre Quinn, Dr Kevin Griffin
University/college TU Dublin