As part of the Go Succeed Community Outreach initiative, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has partnered with Northern Regional College to inspire and support the next generation of entrepreneurs across the region to deliver sessions to students, designed to spark creativity, encourage collaboration and problem-solving, and ultimately challenge students to devise real-world solutions to pressing social and industry issues. The camps brought together expert facilitators, mentors and local business leaders, allowing students to ideate, create, and pitch business concepts for feedback and further development.
From these Ideation Sessions and Innovation Camps, several standout projects emerged, including The Beauty Wheel, Smartbox Medication, Accessibility Desk and the CABT App. These concepts were selected for further development into working prototypes, with full funding and support provided by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council through Go Succeed. The College worked closely with local design and manufacturing partner Demanu to bring the prototypes to life.
Demanu, a Northern Ireland-based product development company, has been instrumental in turning student ideas into tangible innovations. Operating from their Microfactory, the Demanu team completed a wide range of production stages in just one week—from CNC machining, powder coating, and laser cutting to electronic programming and final assembly. Their commitment to innovation, sustainability, and fast prototyping ensured that these student concepts became functional, professional-grade products ready for real-world testing.
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Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Alderman William McCaughey, added: "The Councils are keen to ensure that entrepreneurial skills and ambitions are embedded from a young age to encourage and support future entrepreneurs and develop creativity and innovation in the talent pipeline. Through the Go Succeed service, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is delighted to be able to deliver outreach activity alongside our partners in Causeway Coast and Glens, Mid Ulster, and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Councils, and are committed to working closely with Northern Regional College. The College shares our geographical footprint and our ambition to inspire the next generation of innovators and business leaders."
Following the successful prototyping stage, these projects entered Northern Regional College’s internal Further Education Sector Project-Based Learning (PBL) competition, which took place at the Causeway Campus. The Beauty Wheel went on to win the Level 2 category and the Accessibility Desk went on to win the Level 3 category. Smartbox Medication also received Special Recognition in the Level 3 category from the judging panel for its thoughtful solution to medication management.
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