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A group of University College Dublin students will represent Ireland on the international stage following their win at this year's ESB Inter-Colleges Challenge.

The team was captained by Aoife Cunningham, 3rd International Commerce at UCD Quinn School and was also comprised of Mechanical Engineering students Scott Mulligan, Allannah Duffy and Benjamin FitzPatrick. The team will now compete against universities across the globe at the engineering and commerce competition ENGCOMM 2021 in February.

The group won the right to represent Ireland at the international event after they overcame stiff competition from Queen’s University Belfast and Cork Institute of Technology.

Coached by Associate Professor Aisling Ní Annaidh, who has helped three teams now claim victory at the ESB Inter-Colleges Challenge, the winning UCD team was tasked with setting out a vision for Ireland’s hydrogen economy in 2030 - with specific focus on transport and moving the country’s freight sector to net-zero carbon emissions.

Participants were tested over a full range of engineering, financial, marketing and team working skills.
Following the two-day competition, which was held online due to COVID-19 restrictions, Marguerite Sayers, ESB’s Executive Director, Customer Solutions said,

“The quality of the work undertaken by each of the teams over the two days demonstrates their ability to think critically and creatively about the challenges facing Ireland and the energy sector in the transition to a low carbon future.

Each team worked incredibly well together... [and] I was hugely impressed by the novel solutions to the challenge that each team pitched to the expert panel.

I would like to thank all teams for their participation and wish UCD the best of luck as they represent Ireland on the international stage at ENGCOMM 2021.”

The winning UCD team will be presented with the prestigious McLoughlin perpetual trophy at a later date in line with COVID-19 protocols.

The ESB Inter-Colleges Challenge is open to third-level colleges with teams typically comprising of three engineering and one commerce student.

Winning teams are sponsored by the ESB to represent Ireland in the international ENGCOMM competition, and also receiving placements with the organisation.

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations