Student entrepreneurs Windborne and HeatSense have been named joint winners of the CHARM‑EU Open Incubator Ideathon 2026 which took place last week at Trinity College Dublin.
Held in Trinity’s Business School and in partnership with CHARM-EU and Open Incubator, the Ideathon brought together 100 students to develop solutions for social challenges in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Windborne, a proposal to reduce food waste by free-drying food using curtailed wind energy, and HeatSense, which aims to reduce carbon emissions on campuses with automated heating systems, were both awarded €500 to progress their business ideas.
A standout showcase of student innovation
During the Ideathon, student teams developed 14 robust pitches and demonstrated impressive creativity, critical thinking and a focus on real‑world impact. The ideas put forward spanned social, environmental and health‑related challenges.
Judges Gavan Drohan, Head of Student Entrepreneurship at Trinity College Dublin, Dr Daniel Griffin, Research Assistant at CHARM-EU, and Zaur Samadov-Unsizada, Student Entrepreneurship Programme Manager at Trinity, praised the quality of the pitches put forward by each of the teams and the ambition of the students who took part.
‘Warmest congratulations to all of the teams who took part in the CHARM-EU Open Incubator Ideathon,’ said Dr Daniel Griffin. ‘The quality of the business ideas put forward, all of which align with one or more of the United National Sustainable Development Goals, were really superb – every team presented a potentially viable business which made choosing the winners very difficult. Well done to the winners and we look forward to seeing where your entrepreneurial journeys take you!’
Additional recognitions
Alongside the main prizes, two teams were awarded Open Incubator Prizes:
These awards offer teams the opportunity to continue shaping their concepts beyond the Ideathon and explore pathways towards real‑world implementation.
