Tag: #basement

UCD STUDENTS TOKYO BOUND AFTER WINNING NATIONAL TECH & INNOVATION COMPETITION

UCD Commerce students Oisin Mallon and Oisin Walsh have been crowned the 2024 Red Bull Basement National champions and will go on to represent Ireland in the World Finals in Tokyo next month.

After 1,800 applications nationwide, the search for the next generation of Irish innovators came to a head at TUD Grangegorman on Thursday night when finalists presented their ideas to a panel of judges from across the Irish creative, media and tech landscape.

Teams from across the country were represented in the final. Each presented their own business plan, created with the support of AI technology. After much deliberation, University College Dublin pair Oisin Mallon and Oisin Walsh were announced as the winners, nabbing a laptop each from partners AMD, as well as a place at next month’s Red Bull Basement World Finals in Tokyo.

The team presented their plans for StepAhead, which seeks to connect young people with mentors who have recently navigated the same career or educational paths, offering real-world advice to help them make informed, confident decisions.

On their victory, Oisin Mallon (aged 22 from Omeath, Co. Louth) said: “We are delighted to win the Red Bull Basement National Final with StepAhead and represent Ireland on a global stage in Tokyo with our idea.” 

Oisin Walsh (aged 22 from Killarney, Co. Kerry) added: “We are just thrilled to have won the Red Bull Basement National Final. We can’t wait to bring our idea to the global stage in Tokyo. Seeing an idea of ours come to life is an amazing feeling and I’m excited to see where it takes us.”

The next step for the dynamic duo is Tokyo, with over 40 countries set to compete at the World Finals. Across Monday December 2nd, and Thursday December 5th, they will attend workshops, dedicated AI educational sessions, and have the chance to network with international entrepreneurs and business leaders, before they go up against their peers for the World title.

The grand prize for the global winner? A three week accelerator programme, all expenses paid, to Silicon Valley and Los Angeles in 2025, where they will receive hands-on experience, mentorship and opportunities to connect with top industry leaders, including insights from Red Bull Basement global partners Microsoft.

Red Bull Basement Returns For 2024

A single good idea will launch entrepreneurs from Ireland to the global stage as Red Bull Basement returns for 2024. Red Bull is giving the next generation of innovators the chance to conceive, develop and launch their outstanding business ideas with applications for this global competition now open.

Each team that applies will be able to create their own business plan with the help of AI technology. Ten of the best teams will then be invited to present their ideas at the Red Bull Basement National Finals, which take place in Dublin in November.

The team who impresses the judges will then represent Ireland at Red Bull Basement World Finals in Tokyo, Japan in December. The grand prize for the global winner? An all-expenses paid trip to Silicon Valley and Los Angeles in 2025, where they will receive hands-on experience, mentorship and opportunities to connect with top industry leaders in a three-week long accelerator programme. Applications for Red Bull Basement are now open until October 31st 2024.

As colleges and universities return across Ireland, students with entrepreneurial flair and desire to make an impact are encouraged to bring their brightest ideas to the table. Who’s to know where it might lead?

In 2021, Ireland’s representatives Clara Fergus and Harsh Chandra used the skills and knowledge acquired at the Red Bull Basement World Finals in Istanbul to further develop their business idea, CareersXP, a career guidance solution for students. Basement winners in 2020, Joanna Power and Paramveer Bhachu, have progressed their innovative water-saving washing machine idea into a developing business and claimed numerous innovation awards on the back of it, appearing on the TedxTalk series in 2022.

To apply for the 2024 edition, visit https://www.redbull.com/ie-en/events/red-bull-basement-ireland where the easy-to-use AI tool will help to create and submit a one-page business plan as their application. Regardless of your educational background or professional field, you are welcome to submit an idea with the potential for significant impact. Entrants must be aged 18 and above at the time of application and currently residing in Ireland.

The best entries will be chosen to take part in the Red Bull Basement Irish National Final in Dublin in November, where a panel of hand-picked judges from across the Irish tech and business spheres will select the best idea to represent Ireland. The successful team will then have one month to further grow their ideas and start-up business plan with the help of mentors and industry experts before heading to Tokyo for the World Finals.

Timeline, Red Bull Basement 2024

Monday  September 16th – Thursday October 31st:

  • One or two-member teams of students and innovators can visit the Red Bull Basement website to submit applications.

Wednesday November 13th:

  • Red Bull Basement Irish National Final, where judges select one team to represent Ireland at the Global Final in Tokyo, Japan.

Monday December 2nd – Thursday December 5th: 

  • National teams from over 40 countries will come together in the immersive World Final in Tokyo, where they will attend workshops, dedicated AI educational sessions, and the chance to network with international entrepreneurs and business leaders.  

To learn more about Red Bull Basement, enter the competition and access FAQs, visit: https://www.redbull.com/ie-en/events/red-bull-basement-ireland/

TU Dublin students selected to represent Ireland at the Global Innovation final.

Technological University Dublin student innovators Harsh Chandra and Clara Fargas with their career guidance solution CareersXP have been selected to represent Ireland at the 2021 Red Bull Basement Global Final.

In this global program, students are empowered to showcase their innovative ideas, using technology to make tomorrow’s world a better place. Ireland’s winning entry, Harsh and Clara’s online platform CareersXP is a game-changing career guidance solution which aims at giving students more clarity when choosing their college course. Inspired by the issue of college dropout rates and the lack of solutions already available, CareersXP provides hands-on experience through short and simple activities across a range of different courses which aims to provide valuable insight to help students make a better-informed choice.

Computer Science student Harsh commented on the project; “We aim to create a platform that helps sixth year students to overcome the fatigue and pressure of choosing a college course and a career. Many college freshers are led to make uninformed decisions which leads to poor performance, stress, and dropouts. With CareersXP we plan to tackle this problem with a practical approach by allowing students to ‘try courses before applying to them’. This creates a unique & personal experience helping them to gain insight and narrow their search to find the right fit for them.”

Harsh and Clara will now receive support and mentorship to further develop their platform ahead of the Global Final in Turkey in December where they, alongside 44 other country finalist teams will pitch to a panel of globally acclaimed thought leaders, entrepreneurs and tech and innovation experts and visionaries.

Business student Clara commented on the Red Bull Basement experience; “It is a huge opportunity to be selected to represent Ireland and TUD at the Red Bull Basement Final and we are so excited to be able to travel to Turkey in December. The mentorship, work-space and support will be a real leg up for the project as we continue work on the prototype ahead of the Final. This is a real game changer for us as students and for our project, we look forward to great things to come.”

https://www.redbull.com/ie-en/videos/red-bull-basement-launchpad-ireland-recap