A team of students from the Dundalk Institute of Technology’s Diploma in Food and Agri-Business have successfully progressed on from the first stage of the TANDEM Entrepreneurship Project ‘Start for Future’, a programme coordinated by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
The team is made up of Students Linda Strahan, Sylvester Phelan, Hugh O’Connell and Cian Poyntz.
DkIT’s TANDEM Entrepreneurship Project
The Tandem project is a European wide project with seven HEI partners (including DkIT) which aims to support capacity building in Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Higher Education sector.
The ‘Start for Future’ programme is an initiative of international universities of EU Excel and Tandem Plus.
This winning group of students from Part Time Agri Food Science Y2 have progressed to the second stage of this project with their sustainable idea AsparaGas-B-gone. The project ains at reducing methane levels in livestock with the use of a red seaweed called asparagopsis armata. They called their seaweed product “AsparaGas-B-gone”.
The team carried out primary research by sending a survey to a wide selection of farmers involved in different sectors of livestock farming and also interviewed the previous national chairman of the dairy committee of the Irish Farmers Association. They received very positive and encouraging feedback with regards to the idea. Based on the optimistic response they received from fellow farmers and the Irish Farmers Association and the significant research they have carried out to date on this seaweed product they are highly motivated to pursue this idea further.
Getting to the second stage of the TANDEM project ‘Start for Future’ is a wonderful prospect for the DkIT students to take their concept and develop it to the next phase. They will embark on an 8 week programme starting on 29th January where the students will accelerate their idea with the help of coaching from incubator consultants, industry and EIT experts with 20 international partners. Students will pitch their ideas in late March 2022.
Head of Department of Agriculture, Food and Animal Health, Dr. Breda Brennan said:
‘I am delighted to hear of this success and congratulate the students and their lecturer Angela Hamouda. This is a highly successful programme which provides opportunities for graduates to upskill for new or existing roles within the Food Industry and entrepreneurship is a very important element of the programme. We have succeeded in getting Springboard funding for this programme for several intakes and will be applying for funding again this year. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the great work of the School’s Head of Part-time Programmes, Dr. Geraldine O’ Connor and the Programme, Director Paul Murphy.
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