Student entrepreneur’s from three local secondary schools ( Loreto Abbey, Dalkey, St. Raphaela’s, Stillorgan and St. Andrew’s College, Blackrock) will represent Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County at the Student Enterprise Awards National Final in Croke Park on Wednesday, 22nd April.
Co-ordinated locally by Local Enterprise Office Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, the competition is the largest programme of its kind in the Country. Since last September, 17,000 budding entrepreneurs from 300 secondary schools across Ireland have been researching, setting up and running their own enterprises, with help from their teachers and staff from the national network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs).
The County final for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown took place in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire on Thursday, 13th March. In the junior category, first year students Lucy Bracken and Mia Byrne from Loreto Abbey Dalkey took first place for their Old Irish Coin Jewellery business, Henny-Penny.
Second year students Sophie Hanrahan, Sadie Lehane, Jade Pinkney, Claire Murphy and Sorayya Melrose from St. Raphaela’s Secondary School won the intermediate prize with their project Tie & Fly, a device for securing feeding bottles in place. St. Andrew’s College won the senior prize, Yan Li and Rob Tuke of Aquapro supplying an innovative liquid and stain repelling treatment.
Praising the teachers and local schools involved in the programme, An Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Councillor Marie Baker, said “The Student Enterprise Awards enables students to take on the world of business and develop an entrepreneurial mind-set. Our finalists deserve great credit for the way in which they have successfully managed their ventures over the last year, learning important business and enterprise skills along the way.
Their families, schools and teachers can be very proud of what they have achieved and we wish our winning schools and their students every success as they take on the role of enterprise ambassadors for the County at this year’s National Final in April.”
Catriona O’Sullivan and Noel Cox from Allianz Global Assistance were first-time judges in this year’s County final. One of the Country’s largest assistance companies for the automotive and travel insurance industries, Allianz Global Assistance operates from its Head Office in Sandyford.
