These trailblazers will be in Donegal next month for the annual MIT festival, which brings together Europe's brightest young brains in technology.
Gaoth Dobhair in Co Donegal is renowned as a tiny Irish-speaking village in Ireland's northwest region. However, in May, it will host some of Europe's best young entrepreneurs and innovators as they present their ideas and network with those influencing the future via technology.
For the first time, Ireland will host the MIT Innovators Under 35 Europe Festival, where European and global leaders in innovation will speak about the transformative power of tech for the world. The festival has been rebooted after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic.
“During the pandemic we have learnt that, with modern connectivity, great innovation can happen from wherever people are based,” said Connla McCann, director of MIT Innovators Under 35 Europe Festival.
“By bringing Europe’s Innovators Under 35 to the Atlantic edge, we are signalling that tech can blossom on the road less-travelled.”
Darás na Gaeltachta, Derry City Council, Strabane District Council, Donegal County Council, NUI Galway, Catalyst, Open University, Unosquare, and Atlantic Technological University are among the sponsors of this year's Innovators Under 35 Europe Festival.
The MIT Technology Review has published an annual list of Innovators Under 35 since its inception. On the 2019 list of European innovators was Dr. Conor McGinn of Trinity College Dublin and Akara Robotics.
Here is the initial list of European innovators who will go to Donegal next month to display their achievements in biotech, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and other fields.
TapSOS's CEO and founder, Becca Hume
TapSOS is an app that allows users to interact with emergency services without speaking. Hume received the concept for the start-up while studying how individuals with disabilities engage with their environment, services, and each other at Ulster University in Northern Ireland.
TapSOS, which was founded in 2016, is currently developing technology to allow victims of domestic violence or people who find themselves in high-risk situations where they can't speak out to call emergency services with a few taps. Hume also wants to make the software accessible to persons who are blind.
Plan A co-founder and CEO Lubomila Jordanova
Berlin-based Plan A is building a platform that will employ machine learning to assist organizations in managing and improving their ESG performance. Plan A, founded in 2017 by Jordanova, has created an algorithm that analyzes more than 300,000 data points to assist businesses to monitor and decrease their environmental footprint.
Jordanova, a graduate of Aston University in the United Kingdom and Esade Business School in Barcelona, is also the co-founder of the Greentech Alliance, which connects over 1,000 start-ups to 500 advisers. She is presently a member of the six-month Obama Foundation Leaders Europe program for 2022, which unites young leaders in the area to promote the common good.
Abatable's creator, Valerio Magliulo
Abatable aims to assist businesses in meeting their net-zero targets by providing a carbon procurement platform that connects carbon project developers with finance sources for funding. Its platform facilitates access for businesses to voluntary carbon markets, where they may purchase credits to offset their emissions.
Magliulo, a former Facebook and Uber employee, is deeply committed to climate action and co-founded Abatable last year. He received his education at HEC Paris and Bocconi University in Milan.
Pydro's creator and CEO, Mulundu Sichone,
Water conservation has become a primary issue as people become more conscious of the consequences of the climate catastrophe, and this start-up launched by Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur Sichone is attempting to assist.
Pydro has created plug-and-play sensors that identify water wastage from pipe networks and assist water companies in saving money by reducing the problem of undetected pipe breaks. The technique might be valuable in both the EU – where billions of euros are being poured (literally) into the pipeline to enhance water infrastructure – and in underdeveloped nations where water is scarce. Sichone graduated with honors from the University of Rostock in Germany with a master's degree in mechanical engineering.
The Joy Club's founder and CEO, Hannah Thomson
The Joy Club is an online activity group that uses social media technologies to combat elderly loneliness and disease. Thomson founded The Joy Club in 2019 to keep elderly people intellectually challenged, physically active, and socially connected through live online events, inspired by the death of her grandmother who had dementia.
The technology is especially pertinent in the backdrop of Covid-19, which has left many older people feeling increasingly lonely and unable to build or sustain social bonds. Thomson expects that The Joy Club will be a lifeline for users with its mix of programs and activities. She attended Exeter College and the London School of Economics before pursuing a career in finance.
Somdip Dey, co-founder and CEO of Nosh Technologies
This artificial intelligence-powered food management app aims to address the issue of household waste, which contributes significantly to global carbon emissions. Nosh assists customers with managing their food inventory while also providing them with current information on healthy eating. The software also assists sellers in selling near-expired food goods to customers at a reduced price. The software has over 17,000 downloads in the Apple App Store and Google Play as of last month.
Dey graduated from St. Xavier's College in Kolkata, India, and now works as a lecturer at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. He is also working on a blockchain-based machine learning system to avoid food waste at the moment.
Co-founder of ReFuse, Guglielmo Mazza
Garbage is a social entrepreneurship platform that was developed in a refugee camp in Lebanon that aims to help both the environment and those in need by recycling old things and offering pay to individuals who gather refuse.
The ReFuse team is working on a Cash4Trash campaign to aid communities in impoverished areas and refugee camps by raising awareness about the benefits of a pollution-free environment and rewarding individuals for their efforts. Mazza, who has a master's degree in international cooperation from the University of Trento in Italy, co-founded the company.
