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Founder Zander Deans-Xiao just completed a BSc in Economics and Finance at UCD Quinn School

By Miceal Whelan

Athena an early-stage start-up which is developing an AI coaching tool to help candidates perform confidently and authentically at job, or other high-stake, interviews, has today been announced as the winner of the 2025 NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition, an intensive 4-week accelerator programme for student entrepreneurs at University College Dublin (UCD).

Following final pitches to a judging panel at the end of the competition Athena was named the winner of the €3k NovaUCD One to Watch Prize, sponsored by Terra Solar.

Athena, founded by Zander Deans-Xiao who has just completed a BSc in Economics and Finance at the UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business, is developing the hyper-personalised, recruiter-trained AI tool that adapts to both the candidate and the job, helping candidates show up as their most confident, authentic selves in high-stakes interviews.

Zander Deans-Xiao said, “It is a great honour for Athena to have been named the winner of the One to Watch prize at the conclusion of this year’s NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition, especially as the pitches delivered by my fellow programme participants were excellent and of a very high standard.”

He added, “Athena’s initial focus is on business, economics, and STEM students in Ireland and the UK applying for competitive finance and consulting roles. By combining generative AI with recruiter-informed insights, our platform delivers highly personalized, role-specific coaching. But Athena’s deeper mission goes beyond performance, it’s about helping candidates find clarity, confidence, and their authentic voice in moments that shape their future. We believe scalable AI should make people more human, not less.

Read the full story here.

Photo caption: Pictured (l-r) at NovaUCD are Richard Twohig, Operations Director, Terra Solar, Zander Deans-Xiao, founder, Athena and Liam Cronin, Director of Innovation, UCD.