Pictured L-R: Dr Maeve Liston, Director of Enterprise and Community Engagement at MIC; Tomás Fitzpatrick, final year B Ed student at MIC and co-founder of ChessIreland; Oisín Flynn, final year B Ed student at MIC and co-founder of ChessIreland; and Patricia O'Sullivan, Enterprise and Community Engagement at MIC.
Three Mary Immaculate College (MIC) students were among more than 70 budding entrepreneurs from nine Irish universities who gathered at Munster Technological University (MTU) Bishopstown Campus to present their businesses at the Student Inc. 2025 Showcase on Thursday, 21 August.
The 13-week immersive entrepreneurship programme, now in its twelfth year, is led by MTU and supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and international partners. Student Inc. equips students with funding, mentorship and training to transform their ideas into viable businesses. Participants received €4,000 in seed funding and intensive training, including access to campus incubators alongside established entrepreneurs and world-class mentors.
Representing MIC this year were final-year Bachelor of Education students Tomás Fitzpatrick and Oisín Flynn, co-founders of ChessIreland, and first-year Bachelor of Arts student Diarmuid Mangan, founder of DT Media.
Speaking about their experience, Tomás said “Student Inc. has given us the time and support to turn ChessIreland from an idea into a growing national initiative. The programme helped us sharpen our business model and prepare to bring structured chess education into classrooms across Ireland.”
His co-founder Oisín added “Through Student Inc. we’ve been able to develop ChessIreland into a scalable business, gain valuable mentorship, and connect with a network that will help us introduce chess to thousands of Irish schoolchildren.”
Diarmuid’s DT Media project also gained momentum over the summer, building on his vision to expand digital media services in the student and youth sector.
“Student Inc has been instrumental in sharpening my sales skills and business acumen, which I developed during the Customer Discovery phase of the programme. I am consistently signing new clients each week and engaging in regular sales meetings, applying the knowledge I gained from Student Inc.”, explained Diarmuid.
Patricia O’Sullivan, Enterprise and Community Engagement Manager at MIC, praised the achievements of the three students: “We are delighted to see the great strides made by Diarmuid, Tomás and Oisin in building very viable businesses in both DT Media and Chess Ireland and we very much look forward to watching how they grow and develop into the future. What each of the businesses have achieved in such a short space of time is remarkable. From refining their product and service offering, to determining their customer base, to building the financial models to allow their businesses to grow, the students have gained a plethora of skills and knowledge that will allow them to advance their businesses”.
Dr Maeve Liston, Director of Enterprise and Community Engagement at MIC, also highlighted the significance of the programme: “This programme contributes to Mary Immaculate College’s Enterprise and Outreach Strategy by cultivating and advancing a culture of creativity, leadership and entrepreneurship among our undergraduate and postgraduate students. MIC works closely with alumni, industry partners, and community organisations on many innovative professional development and life-long learning projects that enhance the delivery of both the formal and informal learning experiences of our students. Programmes such as Student Inc. play a central role in inspiring and supporting students to realise their aspirations and strengths by equipping them with the skills, experiences, and confidence needed to thrive both personally and professionally.”
This year’s Showcase brought together students from MTU, Atlantic Technological University (ATU), South East Technological University (SETU), Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), University College Cork (UCC), University of Limerick (UL), Dundalk Institute of Technology (DIT), and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT).
Projects spanned a wide range of sectors including biomedical devices, AI customer service platforms, food products, films, games and the creative industries.
For more information on Student Inc. visit: www.mtu.ie/partner-with-us/entrepreneurship/student-inc/
To learn more about Enterprise at MIC, visit: https://www.mic.ul.ie/life-at-mic/enterprise
