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LISBURN girl has taken top prize with her team mates at the
Student Enterprise Awards, Ireland's premier higher education
business enterprise showcase.
Ciara Jordan, 22, a graduate from the
University of Ulster, Aisling O'Neill, Lisa Donnell and Amanda
Nesbitt beat off competition from hundreds of third level
students across Ireland with their business proposal Uberfeet,
scooping the �8,000 prize and title of College Entrepreneurs of
the Year.
The Student Enterprise Awards � held this
year in Cork � are Ireland's largest and most prestigious
student enterprise competition boasting a total prize fund of
�50,000.
Uberfeet is a new product designed to help
women have a comfortable journey after wearing painful shoes. It
is sold in a package comprising of a pair of light-weight
disposable shoes with a re-usable bag to carry the work shoes
in.
The product is unique due to its inexpensive,
disposable aspect.
Ciara said; " We were really shocked when we
won the award. It was such a surprise for us."
The Uberfeet team will be taking advice on
how to move their project forward, Ciara said: "Cruickshank
Intellectual Property Attorneys have added the prize of a
consultancy service to the value of up to 20,000 for all the
winners to aid the students to patent and protect the
intellectual property arising from their projects."
The Uberfeet team has already received an
expression of interest from firms interested in commercialising
their product idea, said Ciara.
The Department of Business, Retail and
Financial Services at the University of Ulster is delighted with
the success of 'Uberfeet team.
"We could not be more proud of the girls,
they are exceptional students who are passionate about their
product and work well together as a team," said Fred Scharf,
Module Coordinator.
"We knew that if they made it through to the presentation
stage, that the judges would be impressed," he said. "
'Uberfeet' had already won the Department's 'Business Start'
competition, but this is the first time that we have entered a
team in the All Ireland awards -and to win it at our first
attempt was beyond our wildest dreams", added lecturer Chris
McLean.
Ulster Star
03/10/2008
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