National Success for Roscommon Students in Croke Park
Ireland’s largest celebration of secondary school entrepreneurs took place in Croke Park at Student Enterprise Programme National Final on May 3rd, co-ordinated by the Local Enterprise Offices.
Roscommon Community College, Roscommon town, won an award at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals in Croke Park, organised by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) for secondary schools.
The students won Best Display in the Senior Category and were presented with their awards on stage by the Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen T.D., Oisin Geoghegan of the Local Enterprise Offices and Michael Nevin, Chair of the Enterprise Education Committee for the LEOs.
The winning students were: Michael Lohan, Ben Finnerty, Matthew Ryan and Keelan Murray who worked under the guidance of their teacher, Ms Jude Lohan. Their student enterprise was called: ‘Fáinne Rathúil which designed and manufactured high quality student graduation rings in stainless steel and brass.
The programme, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the LEOs, had a total of 222 teenage entrepreneurs, aged between 13 and 18, from 78 different enterprises, competing at the National Final, with every Local Authority area represented.
This year’s Student Enterprise Programme attracted over 26,000 student participants from 480 secondary schools around the country. Starting every September, the enterprise education initiative helps students gain the skills and practical knowledge of running a real-life business.
Congratulating this year’s winners and their schools, Minister Breen said; “These student entrepreneurs are the future of Irish business and job creation across the country. The skills attained by these young students during the Student Enterprise Programme will be invaluable to these young entrepreneurs and provide them with a fantastic foundation for a future in business. Many congratulations to all the students here today. By making it to Croke Park you have shown you can create and run a business. Congratulations also to their teachers who play such a significant role in sparking and encouraging their entrepreneurial imagination. If these students decide that being an entrepreneur is the path they want to take in their future, I can assure them their Local Enterprise Office will be there to support them every step of the way.”
Anne Browne, Business Advisor, with Local Enterprise Office Roscommon said: “Congratulations to the students on winning this prestigious National Award in Croke Park, which recognises all their hard work. We have seen over 200,000 students learn how to successfully run a business in the 17 years of the Student Enterprise Programme, thanks to a long-term partnership between local schools and Local Enterprise Offices. Judging by this year’s finalists and winners, the future is bright for entrepreneurs here in County Roscommon.
The 4 students from Roscommon Community College were presented with a Trophy and a ‘One4All’ voucher for €200. They will also attend a ‘Winners’ Business Bootcamp’ over the summer to help them further develop their business skills. Further details about the next Student Enterprise Programme, which begins in September through the Local Enterprise Offices, are available through www.studententerprise.ie.
