MTU secures substantial accelerator funding

Munster Technological University (MTU) has secured a large sum of funding from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for its Student Inc. summer start-up programme. In total, €1,024,250 has been awarded by the HEA to higher education institutions across Ireland.

These funds will go towards proposals around entrepreneurship education, following a funding call in September 2022 that focused on how the proposed initiatives will support participants to obtain entrepreneurial skills.

Student Inc. is a full-time summer accelerator programme that encourages and supports students in starting their own businesses in a safe and nurturing environment. The programme, which has been running annually in MTU since its origin in 2011, was awarded almost 25% of the overall total awarded under the funding call.

Run as a free programme for third-level students, Student Inc. provides students who have business ideas and an entrepreneurial mindset with access to a comprehensive entrepreneurship training programme, as well as mentoring, peer-to-peer learning and the opportunity to pitch to angel investors.

Carole O’Leary, Regional Programme Manager for 3rd Level Student Entrepreneurship at MTU said: "At MTU, we recognise the changing nature of the learner journey, and continually strive to ensure that entrepreneurship is a key graduate attribute of all our learners. By providing a relevant, inclusive and challenging curriculum, MTU aims to encourage and empower learners to become good global citizens and to be inquisitive, entrepreneurial and forward-facing in a rapidly changing world of work."

Michael Loftus, Vice President for External Affairs at MTU, said: “We are delighted to receive funding from the HEA for this vital national programme which continues to go from strength to strength across the country. The Student Inc. programme is a wonderful best practice model for student entrepreneurship and a credit to the Student Inc. team in MTU.”

This new round of HEA funding will make it possible to expand the programme next year to include Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, which means that students from Cork to Donegal will be able to participate in the 2023 summer programme.