Student Enterprise Award Winner

Enterprising young teenagers, from the age of 13 and up, showcased their inventions and real-life businesses at the Student Enterprise Awards in Croke Park on Wednesday 20th April.  A short-list of 76 student enterprises were chosen to exhibit from the 22,000 students and 620 secondary schools that took part from every county across Ireland.

Among this year’s entrepreneurs was George Green, Form 1 student from Dundalk Grammar School. George qualified for the National Final after progressing through the School and then the County Final (organised by the Louth Local Enterprise Office).

All in DGS were delighted to hear that George was placed 3rd in Ireland in the Junior Category.  Congratulations to George, his teacher Ms Michelle Doherty and all the teachers in the Business and Enterprise Department in Dundalk Grammar School.

The Student Enterprise Awards Programme is in its 14th year and brings the world of business into the classroom, helping students develop enterprise and management skills. With the support of their schools and the Local Enterprise Offices in the Local Authorities Network, students research, set-up and run their own real-life businesses.

The programme was set-up to help foster a more enterprising culture according to the Chair of the Enterprise Education Committee with the Local Enterprise Offices, Sean O’ Sullivan. He said: “The Student Enterprise Awards give young teenagers a taste of what it’s like to run their own business and to be their own boss. Along the way, the programme helps them develop important entrepreneurship skills, learning about sales, innovation, managing finances and finding new markets. Learning the fundamentals of running a business now, will help them throughout their studies and career.”

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. said: “As I have said many times before, we have great entrepreneurs in Ireland but we just don’t have enough of them. That is why at the heart of our jobs plans are measures to encourage more young people to consider starting their own business as a career choice. The Student Enterprise Awards are central to this effort, and is an opportunity to witness the amazing quality of the businesses being established by our students and to celebrate their achievements. These young people are the innovators and the job-creators of tomorrow, and I’d like to wish everyone competing in this year’s competition every success with their business”.

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