Over 40 teenagers to pitch their projects, tackling global and local challenges, tomorrow

– Final innovations to combat housing crisis, wildfires, refugee crisis, ocean pollution, and school shootings –

Over 40 teenagers have been selected to pitch their innovations tackling local and global issues, ahead of the STEAM+ICE Final Pitch Event, taking place tomorrow, Wednesday, 1^st August 2018 from 12:30pm to 3pm.

Each of the innovations was developed at STEAM+ICE, a week-long incubator where young people learn STEAM (science, technology, arts, engineering and maths) and ICE (innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship) skills, through a series of workshops.

STEAM+ICE is being run collaboratively by: Trinity Walton Club; Tangent, Trinity’s Ideas Workspace; Fighting Words and Bank of Ireland.

The STEAM+ICE Final Pitch Event will take place tomorrow at the Innovation Academy, Fosters Place, Dublin 2. The final 10 projects competing at the event are:

• HexaHome: Taking on the Dublin housing crisis with innovative living in smaller spaces;
• Lunar: A charity that tackles the impact of menstruation on access to education in developing nations;
• Perfect Pop: Increasing the efficiency of popcorn air poppers;
• Zero Waste: Weigh It and Pay It: Improved recycling facilities, to prevent ocean pollution;
• Wild Fire Watch (WFW): Tech enabled early prevention for wildfires;
• Unimerse: Tackles misdiagnosed gaming disorder through education of risks and benefits of video games;
• Easy Edu: A tech platform to address the refugee crisis in Ireland;
• Unify: Shooter-proofing schools via peer support;
• Motiv8: An app to diagnose, assess and treat procrastination; and
• Dubán: Innovative equipment to reduce injuries to rugby players of all ages.

Speaking ahead of the STEAM+ICE Final Pitch Event, Director of Trinity Walton Club and Assistant Professor in Physics, Dr. Arlene Gallagher said: “It’s been hugely exciting to work alongside these young people as their innovations evolved with each session.

“We started out with hundreds of ideas that the students pitched to each other. They formed their own teams around these excellent ideas, and I’m now delighted to announce the final 10 teams selected to pitch their projects at the STEAM+ICE Final Pitch Event this week.”

Each of the teams has developed their innovation, pitch, and presentation over the past week and will now compete in front of an audience of experts, peers, and judges. The judging panel for the Ultimate Pitch Event are:

• David Tighe, Head of Innovation, Bank of Ireland;
• Fionnuala Healy, CEO, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub, Trinity College Dublin; and
• Dr. Arlene Gallagher, Director, Trinity Walton Club.

“For most, if not all of our students, this was the first time they experienced what it would take to bring their idea to the marketplace.” continued Dr. Gallagher. “It was wonderful to see them embrace this opportunity, advance their skill-set, and perhaps most significantly, ignite their entrepreneurial spirit.”

For further information about Trinity Walton Club: http://www.tcd.ie/waltonclub/index.php.