For further information contact
Caroline Gill
Innovation Pathway Manager
Overview
The NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition, now in its 12th year, provides a framework to support UCD undergraduate and postgraduate students who want to work together to develop and grow start-up companies.
The aim of this competition is to assist students in refining their start-up ideas through a series of structured workshops, including taught content from industry experts, interactive workshops, regular pitching sessions and mentoring.
Over 100 early-stage start-ups and some 350 students have completed the NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition over the last 12 years.
Applications for the 2026 programme will open in January 2026. Up to ten teams will participate in the 4-week full-time, in-person, programme at NovaUCD. This year's programme will take place from 25 May to 19 June 2025.
A final pitching event takes place on 19 June and the competition winner will be awarded a cash prize of €3000.
NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition Terms and Conditions are available here SEC Competition T&C 2026
Application Process
The key steps in the application process for the NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition are outlined below.
| Date | Competition Timeline |
|---|---|
| January | Applications will open in January 2026. Application is via the completion of a short form, and submission of a 5-minute video pitch to cover the following:
Please email this video to (opens in a new window)caroline.gill@ucd.ie ensuring that the file name includes your project name. |
| 17 April | Closing date for applications Competition terms & conditions are attached above. |
| 24 April |
10 teams will be notified that they have been successful and will be admitted to the competition |
| 25 May | Programme commences - the competition runs on a fulltime basis from 25 May until 19 June. |
| 19 June | Final pitching event - the 2026 NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition winner will be selected by the judging panel. |
Clia and Orgo Win 2024 NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition
Clia (Rory Lambe and Ben O’Grady) and Orgo (Zackary Musumeci) were the winners of the 2024 NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition.
Clia, an emerging medtech start-up, was named winner of the €3k Tech Sustainability Prize sponsored by Terra Solar and Orgo, an emerging edtech start-up, was named winner of the €3k One to Watch Prize sponsored by NovaUCD.
Clia is developing software-as-a-service which plugs into existing cardiac rehabilitation services to improve support and treatment for people at risk of cardiac disease. Using wearable health data Clia aims to track and provide insights in heart health, offering links to structured exercise services and give check-ups with cardiac specialist physiotherapists.
Orgo is developing a mobile e-learning platform focused on Organic Chemistry to enable students across the academic spectrum to become comfortable with the subject. The mobile app will help students with bite-size lessons and revision questions to ensure success throughout their college careers.