An Neidín
Modular, rapid‑deployment student housing for Irish universities built for students by students.
An Neidín - "The Little Nest" - Inspired by the Irish word for a safe, warm place to call home.
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The Problem
The Problem
Housing demand has exploded...
Housing demand has exploded...
The student population in Ireland has increased rapidly over the last number of years.
The housing shortfall has resulted in students choosing long commutes, paying a small fortune or not attending university at all...
Supply hasn't kept up...
Supply hasn't kept up...
Traditional construction takes too long to make a meaningful difference to the supply.
Current listings are scarce, sometimes unreliable, competition is intense, and too many students need to "know somone"...
Students are facing these difficult challenges, sometimes alone, while trying to balance academics, socialising and actually working to become fully fledged individuals.
This is becoming an education access barrier and not just a housing problem. This growing gap between demand and supply is exactly what An Neidín aims to address
Our Solution
Our Solution
An Neidín provides modular micro‑studio units designed specifically for students. These units offer universities a way to expand accommodation capacity faster, more affordably, and with significantly lower risk than traditional construction.
Each unit is built as a modern, self‑contained studio with students in mind. They are engineered for the Irish climate, designed to feel warm and comfortable, and include a compact bathroom, kitchenette, study space, heating, storage, and high‑speed WiFi.
Our modular units can be manufactured off‑site, delivered to campus, installed, connected, and made fully livable in a fraction of the time required for conventional builds. This approach allows universities to increase capacity quickly while maintaining high standards of safety, privacy, and student wellbeing.
Pilot Concept
Pilot Concept
The pilot will be a small-scale, real-world deployment designed to validate our model and refine comfort, usability, feasibility, and overall student satisfaction in a measurable way.
It will consist of a deployment of 5–10 modular units — large enough to gather meaningful data, but compact enough for a small operation to manage while the model is refined and prepared for future expansion.
The pilot will prioritise students most at risk of not securing accommodation, particularly first-year students and those relocating for third-level education. Units would be installed on university-owned land to ensure proximity to campus, access to existing infrastructure, and to avoid the land‑sourcing challenges that have limited modular housing projects in the past.
An Neidín is designed to be significantly more affordable than traditional student housing options, with a rapid payback period and low ongoing costs once the model is standardised. The pilot will pro vide the university with clear data on demand, student experience, operational performance, and long-term scalability.
A simple idea at first, but one that made us committed to building a practical, reliable and scalable solution to this problem.
A solution built by students, for students.
Meet the team!
Meet the team!
From Left to Right: Jack Barrett, Kayla Browne, Chloe Breen, Christopher Kilmartin and Kevin Barry.
We are University of Galway graduates with the ambition to solve one of the most prominent issues surrounding University life.
What began as a project for one of our final-year modules quickly developed into something bigger. Through our research and lived experiences, we realised that the housing problem was affecting students across the university.
The Long Term Vision for An Neidín
The Long Term Vision for An Neidín
The end goal is for An Neidín to become Ireland's first, scalable, affordable, student-focused modular housing system. Ensuring that no student is left without a safe, reliable place to live.
Milestone 1: A successful pilot.
Milestone 2: Expansion to other universities based on available land and demand.
Milestone 3: Becoming a sustainable housing ecosystem, i.e., long-term partnerships, similar units and bulk material purchasing.
At its core, An Neidín is a social impact venture. As recent graduates, we want to see a future with no housing uncertainty, a system supporting students' search for accommodation, give universities a tool to meet rising demand and allow students to come to University on focus on what matters.
Where we are now...
We have completed our initial research and developed a clear pilot model. The team is now refining the proposal and preparing to engage with mentors, partners and other stakeholders.
We're building the foundation for the pilot that can demonstrate speed, affordability and impact. This is the early stage steps where the concept shifts from idea to implementation and we're actively seeking the right guidance and collaborators to help bring the first units to life.
Get in touch if you want to learn more!
Email: info@anneidin.ie
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