This year’s live event which will be held in The Helix, Dublin on May 18th, will not only be a special one as it’s the first in-person event since 2019, but also as this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Student Enterprise Programme.

An estimated twelve hundred students from all over Meath, and twenty-four thousand nationwide, took part in programme this academic year. The virtual County Meath Final happened on 28th March. First prize winners in each of the Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories were put forward for selection for the National final.  One team, Barrelda by Theo Staunton and Matthew Kealy from St. Patrick’s Classical School in Navan made it to the top five enterprises in the country and will compete to be crowned National Student Enterprise winners on May 18th and bring the cup home to the Royal County.  

The enterprise education initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland is delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country. The programme supports students to create, design and market their own business.

The following were the winners of first prize at the Meath County Final which was held on 28th March, 2022.

Runner up, third place and highly commended awards at the County final included:

Other awards at the County final included:

Special guests at the Meath Final included Sean Drew, Cathaoirleach, Meath County Council, Jackie Maguire, Chief Executive, Meath County Council and Jack Kavanagh (www.jack-kavanagh.com).

Speaking at the county final, Joe English, Local Enterprise Office Meath, congratulated the students, saying “We have a very successful student enterprise programme here in Meath . Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme and we wish them the very best of luck in the National Final 2022. In what has been a particularly challenging couple of years for students the programme has offered them an outlet outside of the usual school demands. What our students are learning from the programme is that with the right supports and encouragement, they can take an idea from the classroom and develop it into a real-life business. The skills they learn along the way, such as business planning, market research, selling and team-work, will help them become more entrepreneurial throughout their future careers”.

Jackie Maguire said “My message for today is, congratulations on your fantastic achievement. Thank you all for what you have done for enterprise in Co. Meath. Good luck to our winners today as you vie with all the other business around the country to secure a place at the National Final in May. No matter what, you should be very proud of yourselves, as we are.”

Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 300,000 students have taken part, learning key skills on how to create a business idea, start a business and grow a business. The Student Enterprise Programme also has new range of online resources for 2021/2022 at www.StudentEnterprise.ie, which includes webinars, templates and interactive teacher and student resources.