Emma Counihan, First year student Business with Sport Science – MH412, has been nominated as a finalist for the 2024 Smarter Travel Student Awards under the programmes and advocacy category for her project titled ‘Step-Up’.
Emma’s project aims to increase students’ physical activity levels to and from campus. The project allows students to sync their mobile phone’s default app for tracking their steps to their TFI Leap Card top-up app. Students can then earn themselves financial discounts on public transport services according to their steps taken each week, with larger step counts leading to greater financial discounts. Simultaneously, the project helps to support sustainable travel and the environment by increasing the usage of public transport services or exercise instead of the use of single-mode forms of transportation, such as single car usage.
Emma entered the 2024 Smarter Travel Student Awards as a sole applicant and is one of only two students from Maynooth University to be nominated as a finalist, having competed against undergraduate and postgraduate students across all third-level higher education institutions in Ireland.
Emma will attend the final awards ceremony at The Light House Cinema in Dublin on Thursday 25th April.
Good luck Emma!