Queen's graduate describes ‘proud and unforgettable moment' winning top award for her lingerie business
Sarah Greer secured first place and £15,000 prize at this year's WE Innovate competition for her start-up Dainty Grace, which creates better-fitting lingerie for small-chested women.
As overall winner, she also received a legal support package worth £3,000 to help grow her business.
Sarah, a graduate of the MSc in software development at Queen's, secured the win in what was the university's first year taking part in the competition.
The programme was previously exclusive to Imperial College London.
Sarah pitched to an expert judging panel that included venture capitalists, tech founders and Dame Alison Rose DBE, former CEO of NatWest Group.
Speaking after the final, Sarah said: 'Winning the WE Innovate grand final has been such a proud and unforgettable moment, personally and professionally.
'I'm so grateful to Queen's for their incredible support throughout the programme.
'Being part of the first Queen's cohort in this national initiative made the experience even more meaningful — and I've grown so much as a founder thanks to the mentorship, encouragement and belief I've received.
'This win is a huge step forward for Dainty Grace and I'm so excited for what's next.'
Four other QUB-led ventures were also recognised in the final.
RoutineRoo, an AI-powered visual routine builder for children, led by Pauline Timoney, secured second place and £7,000 prize.
Third place and a £5,000 prize was awarded to Rachel Small's INNOVAscope, a simulation-based training platform for endoscopy procedures.
First- and second-place runners-up were Iaso Solutions, a digital mental health tool for patients and healthcare professionals, run by Ciara Reynolds, and SeeMe, an AI-driven platform to organise and preserve personal memories, created by Mary Blake.
All five ventures were developed as part of the first-ever WE Innovate National programme, which brought together women-led teams from Queen's and Imperial for a six-month journey of coaching, mentoring and expert-led masterclasses.
Sharon Morgan-Young, interim head of Innovation Programmes at Queen's, said: 'WE Innovate has been a truly rewarding experience, and Queen's is proud to have supported such a fantastic programme that empowers women in innovation across Northern Ireland.
'Partnering with Imperial Enterprise Lab has strengthened our innovation community and created invaluable opportunities for women to showcase their talents and ideas.
'We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who submitted an application and congratulate our exceptional finalists and winners — you are leading the way in innovation and inspiring future generations across Northern Ireland and beyond.'
Queen's participants also picked up a number of additional accolades, including a Special Recognition Award for Catherine Sinnamon of LIVE Technologies Ltd.
Méabh McCaffrey-Lau (Future Ready Lab) and Ruchira Rangaprasad (Balantra) were jointly awarded the Leadership Coaching Prize, while Michael Elizabeth Gasior (Kynder Studios) and Riya Sanjay Anandpara (Aapta Nutrifoods) shared the Business Coaching Award.
Launched this year, WE Innovate National is designed to address the persistent gender gap in UK entrepreneurship.
QUB is one of five founding partner universities alongside Imperial, Swansea, Glasgow and Durham.
More than 150 women-led teams across the UK will now benefit from the programme each year.
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