Navan student and entrepreneur off to Young Scientist Business Bootcamp
Seán Finnegan, a sixth year St Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, student, is taking part in the BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp. Seán showcased his project, a portable modular crane design as part of the 61st annual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS in January.
Last year he was announced as the winner of the Student Enterprise of the Year for 'The High Lift' a portable crane lift designed for use in commercial vans. It is fully battery powered and patent pending in Ireland. Seán had told how his father had injured his back from wear and tear working in the construction sector for many years and that he came up with the idea of the lifting aid to prevent more injuries.
Shay Walsh, Managing Director of BT Ireland, said: “We are pleased to welcome the participating students to the 2025 BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp at Nova UCD, our event partner."
Now in its 16th year, the Bootcamp was set up by BT Ireland, under its custodianship of the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (YSTE) in 2010, to support BTYSTE finalists with developing their project ideas into commercial enterprises under the guidance of BTYSTE alumni, BT Ireland mentors and expert judges. This year, BT Ireland celebrated 25 years as organiser of the YSTE and first introduced the bootcamp as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance and evolve the exhibition under its custodianship. In the last sixteen years, the Bootcamp has provided almost 500 students with skills to turn their project ideas into commercial enterprises.
This year, 30 students representing 12 counties from across the island of Ireland are participating in the Bootcamp. The students will take part in a four-day programme that will include workshops on business development, marketing and commercialisation, as well as meet BTYSTE alumni who themselves have launched successful enterprises. On the final day, the students will pitch their project to an expert panel of judges.
Judges this year include Shay Walsh, Managing Director of BT Ireland, Dr Tony Scott, co-founder of the BTYSTE, Anne-Marie Turley, Head of Fintech, Finance and Cybersecurity at Enterprise Ireland, and Brian O’Donovan, Work and Technology Correspondent at RTÉ.
The Bootcamp, originally developed by BT Ireland, is just one initiative that was established under the organisation’s custodianship of the exhibition in the last 25 years. Since the Bootcamp began, several participants have gone on to create successful enterprises, including Protex AI, betterexaminations.ie, and Evervault. BT Ireland’s sponsorship of the YSTE will conclude this week.