Over 100 students took part in this year’s RCSI Student Innovation Challenge – one of the largest healthcare-related student challenges in Europe.

At 2019 Pitch Night, team Epiliant successfully pitched their ideas to a panel of judges to become the winners of the challenge.

The team presented ways to address the challenge of epilepsy medication compliance in young adults. Their challenge was presented by Dr Susan Byrne of FutureNeuro, the world-leading SFI-funded research centre hosted by RCSI, which works to transform patient journeys for those suffering with chronic and rare neurological diseases. The judging panel commended the team for their market assessment and the technical innovations presented.

The Student Innovation Challenge, now in its third year, is the culmination of six weeks' work by the student teams, supported by training in intellectual property, research commercialisation and market research, to develop innovations that have the potential solve some of the biggest challenges in healthcare.

Commenting on the quality and innovation of all of the team pitches on the night, Dr Aoife Gallagher, Head of Innovation in RCSI, said: “The judges were very impressed with unique approaches presented, the level of group participation, the quality of the pitches, and importantly the way in which students had connected with patients and clinical practitioners to ensure a human-centred approach to their challenge solutions.”

Organised by the RCSI Office of Research & Innovation, in conjunction with the RCSI Research Summer School (RSS), teams of student researchers pitched their ideas to a panel of judges, including venture capitalists and industry experts. The teams are tasked with addressing real-world challenges presented by RCSI researchers in the six key research areas for RCSI – cancer, biomaterials and regenerative medicine, neurological and psychiatric disorders, population health and health services, surgical science and practice, and vascular biology.

The clinical challenges presented by RCSI Challenge Leaders were in the areas of:

• Epilepsy medication compliance in young adults (Dr Susan Byrne)
• Reducing shoulder injuries in collision sports (Dr Leo Pauzenberger)
• Surgical skills practice (Ms Leonie Heskin)
• Activity and exercise for COPD (Dr Orlagh O’Shea)
• Sickle cell disease medication compliance (Dr Helen Fogarty)
• Multiple myeloma virtual clinic (Dr Siobhan Glavey)

Four teams from the 2018 cohort of student innovators saw their work included in a successful Health Research Board grant for a public awareness campaign on heavy menstrual bleeding. The project will launch in Ireland in late 2019, connected to the RCSI-based Irish Centre for Vascular Biology.

The RCSI RSS programme provides Undergraduate students with a unique opportunity to spend eight weeks in the summer in a laboratory or clinical setting, working on a research project under the supervision of an RCSI Principal Investigator. The Student Innovation Challenge is a six-week programme delivered within the RSS, which sees students working with challenge leaders on real clinical problems to become innovators, communicators and ultimately skilled clinical practitioners.