Oisín Walsh from Killarney is revolutionising career guidance with a new app that connects students with real-world mentors

University College Dublin (UCD) commerce student Walsh is changing the way students find career guidance.
Alongside his fellow UCD student Oisín Mallon, Walsh has unveiled StepAhead, a new mentorship platform designed to connect students and recent graduates with experienced professionals for personalised career advice.
StepAhead takes aim at the limitations of traditional career guidance methods.
"StepAhead cuts through the noise of outdated advice and gives mentees a chance to connect with relatable mentors who have recently navigated similar career paths,” said Walsh.
StepAhead offers a solution for mentees ranging from secondary school students to recent graduates, providing them with invaluable insights from those with fresh experiences in their desired fields..
This innovative concept gained recognition on the world stage last December. StepAhead was selected as one of only 10 projects globally to pitch at the prestigious Red Bull Basement 2024 World Final in Tokyo, Japan.
“To represent Ireland and to be recognised at the Red Bull Basement main stage among the top 10 finalists was an incredible honour. It demonstrated to us how universal the need is for good, real-world mentorship and guidance,” said Walsh.
“For the year ahead, our focus will be on advancing the development of the StepAhead platform and forging strategic partnerships to bring our vision to life, with the goal of formally launching the platform in Q3 this year. With a mission to re-engineer how people access career guidance, we believe StepAhead has the potential to make a significant impact not only in Ireland but around the world.”