AURA Sports Cream wins top prize at Enterprise Ireland’s 2026 Student Entrepreneur Awards

Image caption: Pictured after the final in TUD’s Blanchardstown Campus were (l-r), Joe Healy, Head of Research and Innovation at Enterprise Ireland; Rory Staunton, AURA Sports Cream and Carmel Dillon, Enterprise Ireland.

An AI-powered educational tool, an app which calculates live commuting times and a VR platform to support people living with phobias, among this year’s finalists

AURA Sports Cream, a unique chilli infused muscle recovery cream, has been named as the overall winner of Enterprise Ireland’s Student Entrepreneur Awards for 2026. 

Rory Staunton, a student at Atlantic Technological University in Sligo, was presented with the award and €10,000 prize at a ceremony in Technological University Dublin on Friday.

AURA Sports Cream is a unique muscle recovery cream which features Capsicum Frutescens, an extract derived from chilli peppers. The cream, which is suitable for athletes and active individuals, works to combine capsaicin with active natural botanicals to deliver fast, targeted heat and relief for muscles and joints.

Enterprise Ireland’s Student Entrepreneur Awards brings together third-level students who have innovative solutions to real-world challenges, and this annual initiative is supported by Cruickshank, Grant Thornton and the Local Enterprise Offices. 

This was the 45^th year of the competition, and it was open to registered full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students from third-level institutions across the island who have an innovative business idea with commercial potential. 

Ten innovations were shortlisted for this year’s final, which was hosted at TUD on Friday. And some of the other solutions which featured included an AI-powered learning tool, and a transportation app which collates data from Ireland's public transport to calculate commuting times in real time.

In addition to the €10,000 cash prize, this year’s overall winner AURA Sports Cream has also won mentoring supports from specialist Enterprise Ireland advisors, who will work with the young entrepreneur to develop their product and explore new market opportunities. 

Other prizes presented at the award ceremony hosted at TUD’s Blanchardstown campus included;

The Grant Thornton High Achieving Merit Award and €5,000, which was presented to Liam Harte from Queen’s University Belfast for their innovation Rephobia.

The Cruickshank High Achieving Merit Award and €5,000 was presented to Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway student Sienna Joyce Faherty for her business The Hill Café.

The Local Enterprise Office High Achieving Merit Award and €5,000 was awarded to Faith Olopade from Trinity College Dublin for their solution Blindspot Labs.

The Enterprise Ireland Academic Award was presented to Dr Orla Byrne from University College Dublin

The other six finalists from this year’s competition all received a prize of €1,500 each from the Enterprise Ireland Merit Awards Fund.

Speaking at the awards, Joe Healy, Head of Research and Innovation at Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland believes Irish exporters can become the primary driver of the Irish economy, and we believe programmes like the Student Entrepreneur Awards are critical to fostering the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs who will drive this growth. It is inspiring to see the creativity and problem-solving skills demonstrated by students across the country as they develop innovations with business potential which address real-world challenges. Enterprise Ireland is committed to harnessing the skills, ambition and talent of our diverse population, including this cohort of student entrepreneurs who are the leaders of tomorrow. I want to congratulate all the participants, finalists and award winners in this year’s competition.”

Also speaking at the event, Teri Smith, Manager, Local Enterprise Centre of Excellence & Enterprise Europe Network, Enterprise Ireland, added: “Fostering the talent and expertise of young entrepreneurs is key to the work of the Local Enterprise Offices. The passion demonstrated by the businesses recognised today bodes well for the future of Ireland’s startup ecosystem. It is through the dedication of today’s young entrepreneurs that Ireland’s business landscape will continue to thrive for years to come. We look forward to seeing the businesses flourish in the future through continued support from the Local Enterprise Office and Enterprise Ireland.” 

ENDS

Notes to editor: 

For additional information, contact press@enterprise-ireland.com

Photos will be issued to picture desks by Coalesce Photography

Finalist profiles

Overall winner:

AURA Sports Cream

Rory Staunton – Atlantic Technological University       

AURA Sports Cream is a unique muscle recovery cream to feature Capsicum Frutescens, an extract derived from chilli peppers. AURA Sports Cream was inspired by natural remedies from the Austrian Alps and is produced in Ireland. The cream works to combine capsaicin with active natural botanicals to deliver fast, targeted heat and relief for muscles and joints. The product is designed specially for athletes and active individuals, providing comfort after intense activity, allowing athletes to recover quickly while performing at their best.

SwiftTFI 

Nichita Condrea - Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT)

SwiftTFI is a next-generation transit application designed to transform the daily commute from a point of uncertainty into a reliable, community-driven experience. SwiftTFI combines official data from the NTA with crowdsourced data verification in order to accurately estimate commuting times in real time.   The SwiftTFI app aims to eliminate the issues of “Ghost Buses”, in which commuters are left stranded at bus stops waiting for a bus that never arrives. 

NeuroBridgeEDU

Emanuel Covasa, Luc Dober — Atlantic Technological University (ATU)

NeuroBridgeEDU is an AI-powered learning platform that helps neurodivergent and multilingual students engage with educational content in the format, language, and pace that works for them. It reshapes material to match how a learner actually processes information, and provides multilingual support so language is never a barrier to understanding.

Built with an accessibility-first approach, the platform turns standard learning content into something every student can access on their own terms.

Represented 

Gabrielle Johnston – Queen’s University Belfast 

Represented is a digital platform that connects university students with brands and event companies that need flexible promotional staff and brand ambassadors. It makes hiring faster, more transparent and more cost-effective, while giving students access to flexible paid work that fits around university life.

Rephobia

Liam Harte – Queen’s University Belfast

Rephobia is a Belfast-based healthtech startup focused on supporting people who live with phobias. Rephobia has built a clinician-controlled VR platform which makes exposure therapy more accessible for patients and clinicians. Rephobia’s 44-participant clinical pilot at Queen's University Belfast was featured by BBC News NI and is being prepared for peer-reviewed publication. Rephobia is now targeting UK regulatory clearance as Software as a Medical Device.

Tollo

Lorcan Fallon, Liv Torfeldt, Reuben Kelly, Ilana Philips, Seán Maher – University College Dublin

Tollo is a compact, battery-powered stable and farm tool designed to help users move materials and carry out a wide range of everyday tasks without the need for large machinery. Operated similarly to a pallet truck, it uses interchangeable attachments, including round bale hands, a high-capacity bucket, yard scraper, flatbed, yard brush, and towbar, to adapt to different jobs around a farm or stable. Built for tight spaces, it helps users move materials safely and work more efficiently with one versatile device. 

Eolas Forestry

Luke Dowd – University College Dublin

LiDAR is a new technology which can accurately measure the timber volume and forest carbon of woodlands. LiDAR converts forest scans into practical reports on timber value, biomass and carbon storage. The technology will give forest owners, managers and industry better data for decision-making as it moves broad estimates to more transparent, measurement-based assessment.

Blindspot Labs

Faith Olopade – Trinity College Dublin          

Blindspot Labs is an AI intelligence platform that equips the housing delivery process with searchable precedent, policy guidance and decision insight from Ireland’s planning records. It indexes 493,616 records across all 31 Irish local authorities, delivering cited answers in seconds instead of hours, live at blindspotlabs.ie.

The Hill Café 

Sienna Joyce Faherty – Atlantic Technological University

The Hill Café is a successful café brand operating on the Aran Islands and in Galway city, with plans to expand into further locations.  The Hill Café specialises in quality food and drink options, with plans to source high-quality food trucks and modular units to provide on-the-go food and café services in some of Ireland’s more remote locations. The business emphasises premium design and operational efficiency through the modular units, providing unique opportunities for the hospitality industry. 

Bracie 

Todd Smyth – University College Cork

Bracie is an Irish-founded digital health company which allows patients to manage and monitor their own orthodontic treatments. It’s first-of-a-kind product is the Bracie iOS app, paired with the Bracie Studio web portal, which lets Orthodontic practices sponsor their patients' use of the service. The App provides five core features: Visit Tracking, a Brushing Habit Builder, a Smile Gallery for visible progress and a Peer-Reviewed Q&A Resource Library.