Partnership Objectives
To empower young founders—particularly those from under-represented groups—to ideate, build, and grow high-impact social ventures. Trinity’s student entrepreneurship platform aims to embed a problem-solution mindset and create sustainable pathways for student-led innovation through structured activities across the academic year.
Trinity Added Value
- Over 200 ventures supported through LaunchBox and OpenIncubator.
- More than €1.25 million in equity-free funding invested since 2013.
- Multiple award-winning social enterprises supported, including FoodCloud, Nuw., Change Donations.
- Europe’s #1 university for student entrepreneurship (PitchBook, 2024).
- Dedicated social innovation challenges co-run with partners like University of Limerick and Queen’s University Belfast
Partnership Activities and Approach
- Design for Impact Stage: Rapid ideation workshops and hackathons engaging over 50 aspiring social innovators.
- Impact Incubator: Term-time programme focused on empathy mapping, business modelling, and team dynamics.
- Summer Accelerator: Coworking space, and mentorship for scaling high-potential social ventures.
- Cross-sector mentorship, community building, and knowledge exchange between commercial and impact-focused teams.
Impact
Since its inception, LaunchBox has helped raise over €150 million in follow-on funding and created 350+ jobs. In 2025, 48% of LaunchBox Phase 1 applications were social impact or “tech for good” ideas, demonstrating a growing commitment from Trinity students to tackle real-world challenges through entrepreneurship.