Stop talking, Start Doing – the motto for Business Students across Cork City!
Schools across Cork City are being encouraged to sign-up for this year’s Student Enterprise Programme (SEP) by local Entrepreneur Joan Walsh, CEO Partnership International.
A Cork City native, Joan Walsh is encouraging Cork City students this year as they embark on their exciting entrepreneurial journey, creating, setting up and running their own business to compete for the top prize of Student Enterprise of the Year
Cork City has had success over the years with some excellent businesses with winners across various categories on a national level. 2023 saw Cork City winners of the Senior Category of the competition, Hassan Mannan, Amanat Baig, and Mamoon Ahmad from Good to Grow at Colaiste An Spioraid Naoimh jet off to Denver Colorado as winners in Cork City with an all expenses paid trip to the OtterCares Global Business Academy Programme in Colorado this Summer courtesy of Otter Products. Their product is a sustainable plant fertilizer, which is manufactured from waste ground coffee, mixed with essential minerals for plant nutrition. The students, who carried out extensive research with horticulturalists to create the special mixture of ground coffee and minerals,
Speaking at the launch of Student Enterprise Programme Cork City, Dr Niall O’Keeffe, Head of Local Enterprise Cork City, welcomed the students, and teachers saying “the quality of young entrepreneurs in Cork City is staggering, we are very proud of the Enterprise and innovation culture here in Cork City and are delighted to be part it. We have no doubt that the amazing prize here in Cork City, which is sponsored by Otter Products is also a very attractive incentive to take part in our programme.
An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices of Ireland, the Student Enterprise Programme is the country’s largest enterprise programme for second level students, with this year marking the 22nd year of the hugely successful programme. Over 25,000 students from approximately 500 second level schools across the country are expected to take part. This year Cork City have over 1000 students registered and 16 participating schools across the City participating to see if they can be one of the lucky 5 students who will jet off to Denver in 2024, compliments of Otter Products. Students attended the 2023/2024 Student Induction day at the Clayton Silver Springs Hotel on Tuesday September 29th as the official launch of the programme in Cork City.
Students from 1st year to 6th year can enter in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories. Participants will learn how to create and run their own business, picking up key skills along the way such as ideation, marketing, finance and sales. The Programme is run through the network of Local Enterprise Offices, supported by Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities, with local coordinators in every area to support teachers and students through the year of the programme, which helps foster entrepreneurship in students and gives them key skills they can bring with them into later life.
Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 325,000 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 a new range of online resources for 2023/2024 at www.StudentEnterprise.ie, which will feature regular blogs and houses a full range of Student Enterprise resources for students and teachers.
