A team of students from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School from the online  Masters in Project Management (Part-time) finished second in the 2024 ENFUSE Finals for their collaboration with The Meath Foundation.

“Congratulations to the wonderful student team, Margarite Foran, Aaron Ram, Mohamed A. and Jacques Barnard on being awarded 2nd place in the prestigious ENFUSE finals,” said The Meath Foundation CEO, Martine Larkin. “On behalf of the Meath Foundation I want to express our sincere gratitude for your work and dedication in this project.”

The student team has been invited to present their report and findings to The Meath Foundation Board.

Held in the beautiful Dublin City Hall, Minister of State Emer Higgins, with responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail, was on hand to congratulate the winning teams.

The UCD Smurfit School and The Meath Foundation project involved the team working on a revamp of the Meath Foundation’s website to modernise their communications effectiveness with a range of stakeholders. 

“Partnering with ENFUSE again this year exposed all the students to a well thought through process that aligned with the module learning outcomes perfectly,” said Joe Houghton, Director of Project Management and Assistant Professor at UCD Smurfit School. 

“Playing to our ongoing approach linking theory with practice across the programme, the students did real work that has helped all the companies involved, and they have also gained valuable experience and built their professional network. We were thrilled with the outcome, getting two teams to the finals and placing 2nd (just like last year!). We will certainly be working with ENFUSE again for next year's cohort of students.”

“It’s also great to see that our successful part-time team this year is part of the new fully online programme, showing that the learning and effectiveness of this mode of study is just as valuable as the more traditional in-person mode of study,” concluded Houghton. 

Now in its 6th year, ENFUSE matches local SMEs, micro enterprises and social enterprises with teams of Master’s students. Teams develop and present bespoke plans to their allocated enterprises to implement and to their lecturer to assess. These plans outline ways for the business to address challenges they face and develop competitive opportunities to expand.  

The initiative is co-led by Dublin City Council and Local Enterprise Office Dublin City in collaboration with TU Dublin, DCU, NCI, UCD and TCD and is supported by and involves numerous regional stakeholders all aligned to the ambitions of the Dublin Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024 and the Dublin Regional Skills Forum Plan (an initiative of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science) 

Overall, 8 student teams competed at this year’s ENFUSE Finals by pitching to expert industry judges on the plans they produced. The 8 teams were shortlisted from a total of 69 teams that participated in ENFUSE 2024. The top three teams won specialist mentoring and training supports from the Local Enterprise Office and a Skills Audit from the Dublin Regional Skills Forum for their allocated enterprises, along with prizes from Dublin Place Brand.  

The top 3 teams at the ENFUSE Finals 2024 were as follows: 

1st Place

Team: Conor McIntyre, Aparna Keegan, Elaine Collins, David Cook, Kim Laglagaron, Nicola Bloger, Finola Roache

Client Enterprise: Ei Travel Group

Lecturer: Dr. Ronika Chakrabarti

University/College: Trinity College Dublin 

2nd Place

Team: Mohamed Ali, Margarite Foran, Jacques Barnard, Aaron Ram

Client Enterprise: The Meath Foundation

Lecturer: Joe Houghton

University/College: UCD 

3rd Place

Team: Emma Brassanini, Cian Owens, Sydney Goldsmith-Powell, Kanishk Bhan, Juliette Zonens, Kara Anders

Client Enterprise: Rare Jewellery

Lecturer: Dr. Stephen Murphy

University/College: Trinity College Dublin 

Speaking on the night, Minister of State with responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail Emer Higgins T.D. said: “Congratulations to the Enterprises, Master’s Students, Lecturers and Universities involved in this year’s ENFUSE finals. ENFUSE brings students, local enterprises, social enterprises, and stakeholders together with a shared goal: innovation. By promoting this collaboration, ENFUSE facilitates the development of impactful solutions. Local enterprises and social enterprises gain invaluable access to research and new ideas, while students are empowered by hands-on, real-world learning experiences. ENFUSE exemplifies the power of collective effort, driving positive change and fostering a culture of innovation for the benefit of all. 

Promoting the benefits to enterprises that participate, Greg Swift, Head of Enterprise with LEO Dublin City commented: “supporting local businesses has always been at the heart of the Local Enterprise Office. It’s our commitment to driving the economic growth of Dublin. ENFUSE represents another stride forward in this endeavour, delivering fresh, dynamic, and innovative solutions to everyday challenges. By leveraging the incredible talent of our students, we empower businesses with new perspectives, ensuring a stronger, wiser, and more progressive future for all.”

More about ENFUSE: 

The ENFUSE Finals was the culmination of this year’s ENFUSE programme which involved 454 master’s students that supported 69 local enterprises and social enterprises. ENFUSE is led by Dublin City Council (DCC) / Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Dublin City in collaboration with Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin); Dublin City University (DCU); National College of Ireland (NCI); University College Dublin (UCD) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD). It is supported by and operated in alignment with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, South Dublin and Fingal County Councils and their respective Local Enterprise Offices, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER); Dublin Place Brand; the Dublin Regional Skills Forum (DRSF); Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS); Dublin Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024; Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Enterprise Ireland; GradStart and the European Year of Skills.  

ENFUSE matches local enterprises and social enterprises with teams of masters level university and college students. During semester 2 (January-May) as part of a module, students work in teams typically of 4-6 members with selected enterprises. The students help provide insights, propose solutions and ultimately present a bespoke and tangible plan that sets out how the enterprise can innovate, address challenges and develop opportunities. Student teams present the plan to the enterprise to implement and to their module lecturer to assess. Students thus have the opportunity to apply their learning in a real life scenario and to support a local enterprise. 

ENFUSE aims to: 

• Support local enterprises by providing bespoke plans to innovate, address challenges and develop opportunities
• Provide masters students with real-world consultancy and enterprise experience
• Enhance the local innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem 

Information and materials provided by Aine Moreland, Dublin City Council.