Teenage entrepreneurs from County Clare have won an award at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals this week, organised by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) for secondary schools.
Méabhla’s Fairy World, the work of Méabhla Mullane and Kayla Sheridan of Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon, won the Best Display prize in the intermediate category, in front of more than 500 guests at the awards ceremony in Croke Park on Wednesday, 3rd May.
The LEO-run Student Enterprise Programme started in 2003 and more than 150,000 secondary school students have taken part over the last fifteen years, researching and setting up their own businesses. This year’s Student Enterprise Programme attracted 22,000 student participants from 620 secondary schools around the country. The year-long programme helps each student to gain the skills and practical knowledge of running a real-life business.
Congratulating this year’s winners and their schools, Pat Breen, T.D., Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, said: “Entrepreneurship is the backbone of our economy, which is why this Student Enterprise Programme and Awards is so important. Getting students learning about enterprise and providing the opportunity for them to learn by doing, at an early age, lays the foundations for successful entrepreneurship in the future.”
He added, “I want to pay tribute in particular to the Local Enterprise Offices and to the teachers and management of the participating schools right around the country who have delivered a very successful Programme and Awards for the 15th year running. I am greatly impressed and encouraged by the talent on show at the Student Enterprise Awards, and want to commend all of the students who have taken part in the Programme this year. I would encourage you to keep in touch with your Local Enterprise Office, who are on hand to help you grow your businesses. Heartiest congratulations to all the winners and I’ve no doubt that we are looking at some of Ireland’s leading business leaders of the future!”
Congratulating the local students on their award win, Padraic McElwee, Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Clare, said, “The Student Enterprise Programme is growing in popularity every year and our local schools are very committed to supporting youth entrepreneurship. Principals, teachers, boards of management and importantly the student themselves, deserve huge credit for their dedication, innovation and hard work. Working in close partnership with local schools across the county, the Local Enterprise Office is helping to nurture our next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.”
He added: “2017 is an extra special year for Local Enterprise Offices, schools, teachers and students, as we celebrate fifteen successful years of the student enterprise programme in Ireland. As we look to the future, the curriculum in schools is changing with more of an emphasis on enterprise in the classroom. The Student Enterprise Programme is a natural fit for teachers with new resources and supports available to schools throughout the county.”
Further details about the next Student Enterprise Programme, which begins in September, are available through www.studententerprise.ie.
