Dublin City Council ENFUSE finals took place on Thursday 29th May in Wood Quay in Dublin City Centre. Two teams from NCAD’s inaugural MA Circular by Design class were shortlisted for the finals out of 82 student teams competing in the event. 

ENFUSE is an initiative driven by Dublin City Council. It works in collaboration with universities, colleges, local enterprises and students enrolled in master’s programmes. 

NCAD’s students worked closely with industry collaborators, sustainable jewellery brand Shock of Grey and social enterprise We Make Good to take on challenging circular design projects. The projects ran for 8 weeks and saw the students present compelling circular and sustainable design solutions which both industry collaborators found compelling and highly valuable for their businesses. 

The ENFUSE competition saw 8 student teams from across TCD, UCD, TU, DCU and NCAD pitched for the top prize. NCAD’s Circular Design students won both 1st and 2nd place, taking home 1st for the We Make Good project and 2nd for the Shock of Grey project. 

The MA Circular by Design at NCAD was developed with support from the Creative Futures Academy. The programme will run again with the next intake for Sept 2025 open for applications. 

Lucy Clarke from We Make Good described her experience of working with the student team as “The NCAD MA Circular by Design team brought energy, skill, and insight to our state and semi-state uniform waste project as part of Enfuse. From prototyping products to developing the ‘I used to be…’ storytelling, they helped us create a compelling offer grounded in circular design. Their work in material mapping and customer research helped us present a strong case to clients—and directly contributed to We Make Good winning new contracts. Jessica, Daria, Laoise, and Jacinta are a powerhouse team we’re excited to keep working with.”

Students Jacinta Caraher, Laoise Carey, Oyundari Vladimir and Jess Lagried working with Lucy Clarke from We Make Good said “ Working with We Make Good was an eye-opening experience. We didn’t just study circular principles in theory — we lived them. From day one, we applied everything we’d learned from Jess’s lectures: systems thinking, regeneration, designing for inclusion, and reimagining waste as a resource. Jacinta played a key role by meeting end users, gathering valuable feedback, and engaging directly with stakeholders — ensuring our ideas were grounded in real needs. 

Laoise developed a systematic mapping process to track surplus uniforms, helping us simplify and structure the design journey. Daria and Jess’s backgrounds in design really shaped how we approached our “sandbox” for prototyping — encouraging fast, iterative development and experimentation. That process led to a high number of creative, meaningful design concepts that emerged during our ideation phase. Together, we captured the essence of the DISRUPT framework and turned it into something practical, scalable, and community-driven.  Winning Enfuse felt like a powerful validation that circular economy solutions can thrive when they’re built on collaboration, creativity, and real-world application.”

Sarah Carroll Kelly from Shock of Grey described her experience as

”The NCAD ENFUSE project was such an amazing experience. I don’t have time to waste on just theory and academics so for this group to be able to turn out a practical guide that a small business can actually bring to fruition is a major achievement. Their audit of my business was done with such detail in mind that I would never have perceived half of what they noticed, and every recommendation will be carried out over the next few months.  I am grateful for this experience and it has helped me focus on and champion my businesses strengths and deal with weaknesses in a gradual practical way.”

Students Ashley Shak, Georgi Dan and Hannah Walters said of working with jewellery designer Sarah Caroll Kelly “Working with Sarah over the last few months has been amazing. She’s given us valuable hands-on experience into the Irish design industry, and expanded our networks introducing us to key movers and shakers. In return, we’ve been able to provide her with practical advice that was gleaned from theoretical learnings from NCAD in the circular economy.”

Lecturer Jess Hayden who worked with the teams and organisations throughout the project said “I am so proud of our Circular Design students. They have proven that circular design is a brilliant strategy to find sustainable opportunities for businesses. Our students’ talent, hard work and dedication have proven the case for circularity. We hope businesses in Ireland are watching because true circularity and sustainability is your competitive edge.”

CFA Academic Lead Bernie McCoy said “ NCAD’s research and applied creative-led strategic approach to understanding and unraveling the complexities of climate, social and economic sustainability enable collaborative transformative solutions supporting businesses to innovate responsibly” 

Head of School of Design Prof Alex Milton said “I am delighted that our design students have been able to address some of the key challenges faced by small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). At NCAD we seek to bridge the gap between academia and industry, and drive innovation through creativity.”