A cohort of fourth year SETU students showcased their innovative ideas at the final TFI Smarter Travel Awards held at the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin on 7 May 2026.
SETU saw a multitude of its final year students shortlisted for the awards after creating innovative group projects to help promote sustainable commuter options to staff and students traveling to third level campuses in Ireland.
National recognition
On the day, SETU won the Social Marketing Category for the ‘Beat the Beep’ campaign designed by Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Public Relations and Media students Laura Karaliute and Aoife Doyle.
Getting to work on such a hands-on project was a great experience. I now understand what running a marketing campaign will involve once we graduate. The win came as a huge surprise. We thought the competition in our category was steep, including the added pressure of competing against our own peers. We were blown away by the comments from the judges and how kind everyone was on the day. We are beyond proud of what we achieved and it’s a fantastic way to finish our four years in SETU.
Laura Karaliute PR and Media Student at SETU
As part of their Digital Marketing Planning Module, the students were challenged to create a smart travel campaign to suit SETU’s Kilkenny Road campus in Carlow. After four years studying at the University, both students understood the challenges associated with commuting to campus each day.
‘Beat the Beep’ allows students and staff to reduce the most stressful 5 minutes of their commute by parking in the additional parking spaces in the University’s South Sports campus, as well as create a new way for people to meet and bond in the mornings.
This project was such a valuable experience for us. I enjoyed taking part and getting the opportunity to use what we've learnt in digital marketing over the last four years, was really rewarding. It made me realise that I can go out and work in this field in the future. Working with Laura to create this campaign was so fun. Seeing the campaign come together over time and learning from each other was a really nice feeling. We genuinely didn't think we would win as were delighted to even be nominated. So the fact we won just meant everything and it was a complete shock, because there was such a high standard of posters by other students in the campaign.
Aoife Doyle PR and Media Student at SETU
SETU and Smarter Travel
Participation in the Smarter Travel awards allows students hands on project experience, the opportunity to build a professional portfolio and exposure to industry experts. While the project itself allows students the chance to develop a scheme that supports, facilitates and enables sustainable travel modes to and from its campuses.
Projects like the TFI Smarter Travel Student Awards give students the opportunity to work on real-life industry challenges while applying the creative and strategic skills developed throughout their studies. It was fantastic to see our students engage so thoughtfully with the issue of sustainable and active travel, developing campaigns that not only demonstrated strong marketing insight but also highlighted the importance of making more environmentally conscious commuting choices. Their success reflects both their creativity and their growing awareness of how marketing can positively influence behaviour and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Dorothy Keane Programme Director MSc. in Digital Marketing and Analytics
SETU finalists
The TFI Smarter Travel Awards celebrates the creativity and innovation of students shaping the future of sustainable public transport in Ireland.
Other finalists representing SETU included:
- Step It Up, Ireland - Tereza Ingrova, Eliska Matusova, Jonas Trojovsky
- Calculate 2 Commute - Jayme Coyne, Craig Andrews
- Pedal For Prizes - Gearoid Heanue, Calum Corcoran
- Carpooling at SETU - Dalibor Kolar, David Colgan, Connor Halpenny
- AWAIRE - Caoimhe Smyth, Brian Richardson, Bill McGrath
- ELT - Laura Fischer, Elliot Darcy, Tetiana Hanashylina
- We Love TFI - Thiago Beckmann, Moya Belton, Teslim Saeed, Gillian Phelan
- Back on Track - Lucy Harney, Jenny O Connor, Leah O’Donoghue
- Krisztina Molnar (2nd) - Krisztina Molnar, Kurtis Doyle Healy, Grettel Pascacio Martinez
- Smarter Travel - Leah O’Donoghue, Jenny O’Connor, Lucy Harney
