TU Dublin Student Success in Dublin City Council’s 2023 ENFUSE Finals
On Friday, Dublin City Council announced today that a team, TU Dublin, had won third place in the 2023 ENFUSE Finals for their collaboration with Crann.
The winning team were M.Sc. in Event Management students Maria-Jasmine Adekanmbi, Emmanuelle Brucci, and Mariana Vasutova, while Aditya Dubey, who is studying the M.Sc. in Hospitality Management programme, was the fourth member of the team. The students worked with Client Enterprise Crann and were advised by Dr Jennifer Lawlor, Dr Deirdre Quinn, and Dr Kevin Griffin. The students were one of six teams that represented TU Dublin in the competition.
Now in its 5th year, ENFUSE matches local SMEs, micro-enterprises and social enterprises with teams of master’s level university/college students. Teams develop and present bespoke plans to their allocated enterprises to implement and their lecturer to assess. These plans outline ways for the business to address its challenges and develop competitive opportunities to expand.
The initiative is co-led by Dublin City Council and Local Enterprise Office Dublin City in collaboration with TU Dublin, DCU, NCI, UCD and TCD and is supported by and involves numerous regional stakeholders all aligned to the ambitions of the Dublin Regional Enterprise Plan 2023.
Overall, 10 student teams competed at this year’s ENFUSE Finals by pitching to expert industry judges on the plans they produced. The 10 teams were shortlisted from 57 teams that participated in ENFUSE 2023. The top three teams won specialist mentoring and training support from the Local Enterprise Office and support from the Dublin Regional Skills Forum for their allocated enterprises, along with prizes from Dublin Place Brand.
The top 3 teams at the ENFUSE Finals 2023 were:
1st Place
Team: 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
Team: 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
Team: Maria-Jasmine Adekanmbi, Emmanuelle Brucci, Aditya Dubey, Mariana Vasutova
Client Enterprise: Crann
Lecturers: Dr Jennifer Lawlor, Dr Deirdre Quinn, Dr Kevin Griffin
University/College: TU Dublin
Speaking on the night of awards, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary T.D. said, “Congratulations to all involved in this year’s ENFUSE finals. Success is often predicated on innovation and collaboration. The ENFUSE programme enables just that, bringing together students, businesses and social enterprises, and local stakeholders to better understand the challenges and fosters greater collaboration to develop solutions.
As part of ENFUSE, businesses and social enterprises benefit from access to research and new ideas, students benefit from an enhanced learning experience and the ecosystem benefits through improved networking, collaboration and knowledge exchange.”
Also commenting on the benefits of ENFUSE, 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. I was delighted to attend the finals event and witness the incredible work being done by students across Dublin.”
Promoting the benefits to enterprises that participate, Greg Swift, Head of LEO Dublin City, commented, “what ENFUSE allows the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) to do is 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.”
Further information on ENFUSE: https://www.localenterprise.ie/DublinCity/News/Press-Releases/ENFUSE-2023-Open-For-Applications.html