09 September, 2021

EleSkate, MTU’s Innovative Product Design (IPD) project group, has been named 2021 Ireland National Winner of the prestigious James Dyson Award.

The team will now represent Ireland at the international stage of the James Dyson Awards with the overall winners announced on October 31st.

The product developed by EleSkate addresses the challenges associated with measuring the technical aspects of skating performance. The device, which fits seamlessly underneath the boot, assesses the figure skating jump based upon height, distance, speed of rotation, number of rotations, and airtime. The data captured is then displayed on the EleSkate user-friendly companion app.

The MTU multidisciplinary team of third-year Biomedical, Mechanical Engineering and Accounting students from both Cork and Kerry campuses has already had a very successful year. As winners of 'Entrepreneur of The Year' at the MTU Prize for Innovation Awards, the team netted a prize fund of €5,000 to advance their design, securing a place in the final 10 of the Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards and receiving a further €1,500 in funding.

Eleskate is also one of two MTU IPD teams chosen as semi-finalists in the Startup World Cup 2021. Their MTU sister team, Strum, has developed a product that attaches to the neck of any guitar to aid users of all abilities to play chords by simply touching strings on the contact pad. Elskate and Strum will join the best impact-based university start-ups from around the world to pitch for a chance of becoming the world’s best university start-up in November.

The EleSkate team plan to tailor the product to other sports with similar demands such as gymnastics and snowboarding. Having established a 10-year business strategy, Eleskate estimates a net present value of approximately €30 million over ten years with a market penetration of 1%.

Dr Hugh O’Donnell, a lecturer with the Department of Mechanical, Biomedical & Manufacturing Engineering and supervisor on the Eleskate project has commended the cross-campus collaboration. “EleSkate is a marvellous example of the commercial opportunities that can be created when the entrepreneurial talent of engineering and business students across MTU is harnessed to provide novel solutions to real-world problems.”

EleSkate team members are Shannon O Shea, project manager; Aaron Ahern, Mark Cummins, Ellen Keating, William Kingston, Bronagh McCarthy, Jamie O Leary, Rebecca O'Neill, Shannon O Shea, Krzysztof Przestrzelski and Bartlomiej Rys.

If you would like to explore collaboration opportunities with MTU contact us at extended.campusCork@mtu.ie We are here to connect you with the relevant people or departments and support you on your journey.

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