Courses
ATU Engineering Students Win National Merit Award at Enterprise Ireland Student Awards for Innovative Sports Coaching App
A team of final-year Mechanical Engineering students from Atlantic Technological University has been honoured with a Merit Award at the 2025 Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards for their sports coaching innovation, TactiCast.
A team of final-year Mechanical Engineering students from Atlantic Technological University (ATU) has been honoured with a Merit Award at the 2025 Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards for their sports coaching innovation, TactiCast.
The award-winning team—Alex Markey (Abbeyknockmoy, Co. Galway), Arunas Pakalniskis (Derrymore, Co. Westmeath), and Akeb Saleem (Roscrea, Co. Tipperary)—developed TactiCast as part of their final-year Innovation and Enterprise module.
The project is a modern solution for sports coaches, replacing traditional tactics boards with a mobile app and battery-powered projector that allows real-time strategy sharing on the pitch or in the dressing room.
David Keary, Lecturer at ATU said: “The students hard work, creativity, and dedication truly shone through. Over the past 12 weeks, they have taken their idea from a sketch to a potential startup. It is a milestone for our department—this is the first time since 2016 that one of our Engineering Teams has reached the final ten of this national competition.”
The students received a €1,500 prize and presented their prototype during a two-day event hosted at Technological University Dublin. Now in its 44th year, the Student Entrepreneur Awards is one of Ireland’s longest running and most respected platforms for student innovation. The students were delighted to be involved in the event and remarked:
Alex Markey, Team Lead of TactiCast said it was a truly rewarding experience:
“Being selected in the Top 10 of the Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards 2025 and receiving a Merit Award was an incredible honour. Showcasing TactiCast, our innovative sports coaching app developed through the Mechanical Engineering course at Atlantic Technological University, at the event in TU Dublin was a truly rewarding experience.
It was a great opportunity to present our work, gain valuable feedback, and engage with other passionate student entrepreneurs and industry leading experts.”
Congratulating the team, Dr Orla Flynn, President of Atlantic Technological University said:
“I want to congratulate Team TactiCast from ATU Engineering on reaching the top ten in Ireland for their innovative sports coaching app – the national Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur awards, held annually, are extremely competitive and it’s wonderful to see one of our teams reach the finals. Well done to Alex, Arunas, and Akeb, and also to Dave Keary and all the ATU staff who supported them in their enterprise journey. Ireland needs graduates with strong entrepreneurial skills, and I’m delighted to see ATU’s progression in this regard. “
Eve-Anne Mc Carron, External Engagement Manager, Atlantic Technological University:
“Huge congratulations go to team TactiCast in reaching the national final of the Enterprise Ireland awards. They represented ATU so well in this very competitive competition. The entrepreneurial spirit and mindset demonstrated by these students is exactly what we are working towards every day in ATU, we recognise the value of this to the students, to our region and the economy. Through the development of our entrepreneurial ecosystem within the university, we hope that the success of these students will inspire others to grasp these opportunities.”
Now in its 44th year, the Student Entrepreneur Awards is one of Ireland’s longest running and most prestigious platforms for student innovation. It was fantastic to see ten finalist teams from across the country display their ideas today.
The overall winner of the 2025 competition was Saor Water, a student-led company producing bespoke canned water. The event featured ten finalist teams tackling a range of global challenges, with TactiCast one to watch out for in the future for its practical application and commercial potential.
