A student entrepreneur saving 1,000kg of e-waste every year building his own gaming PCs was the winner of the Student Enterprise of the Year winning the senior category at the awards that took place in Mullingar.
Jack Cannon, a senior student at Clonkeen College in Dun Laoghaire, built his first PC at the age of 11 with the help of his brother. He set up Cannon PC at part of the Local Enterprise Offices’ Student Enterprise Programme and so far, has achieved sales of almost €40,000. Cannon builds upcycled high speed gaming PCs from old PCs being disposed of in office clear outs and for general sale online.
Upcycling project wins student enterprise award
There were also top awards handed out in the Intermediate and Junior categories. Suet & Song, a business set up by Michael O’Keeffe from St. Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, creates high-quality, nutrient rich suet cakes for birds during the colder months and it took home the top prize in the Intermediate Category.
In the Junior category a device that helps hikers and farmers cross electric fencing easily won the top award. Bumblebees is a business set up by Antonia O’Looney, Sophie Gilard, Guiliana Keane and Katelyn Murtagh from Drumshanbo Vocational School in Leitrim. Their WASP (Wire Anti Shock Protector) product is a device that enables people to push down the electric fence without receiving a shock, enabling them to cross safely.
The inaugural Student Enterprise Programme Alumni Award was presented to Fenu Health. Set up by sisters Kate and Annie Madden for the Student Enterprise Programme in 2016, the company creates supplements for equine health and their customers include five royal families.
The 23rd Student Enterprise Programme National Finals saw 85 businesses from across the country shortlisted in three main categories. The Local Enterprise Office initiative, supported by Enterprise Ireland and local authorities, commenced last September in secondary schools nationwide with over 30,000 students taking part this year.
The event was hosted by broadcasters Rick O’Shea and Louise Cantillon and they were joined during the ceremony by Peter Burke, T.D. Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as they announced the winners across the three main categories on the day.
The initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country, has seen over 450,000 take part in the programme since it began 23 years ago.
Gareth Evans, Chair of the Local Enterprise Office’s Enterprise Education Committee, said; “It’s been another hugely successful year for the Student Enterprise Programme. Last year we had over 30,000 participants and we will hit that again this year. So, the appetite for student entrepreneurs is growing and that is no doubt down to seeing the amazing young entrepreneurs this country is producing.
We’ve had some excellent winners here today and going on previous successes they will go on to do great things. A great example today was our Alumni Winner, Fenu Health, who are now an outstanding Irish business trading internationally. Today is just the start for these winners and finalists. The skills and lessons they have learned through the process will stand by them for life and we’re excited to see where their businesses go from here and the new ones they start-up in the future.”
The National Final students, who competed across Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories were challenged with creating, setting up and running their own business, which must show sales of their service or product. The judging panel included business owners and representatives from enterprise agencies and associated bodies.
The Student Enterprise Programme is open to students of all ages at secondary level, with three separate categories – Junior (1st year), Intermediate (2nd and 3rd year) and Senior (4th, 5th and 6th year, LVA, LCA and Youth Outreach).
The Student Enterprise of the Year for 2024 was “High Lift” from St. Patrick’s Classical School in Navan, Co. Meath. The idea, created by Sean Finnegan and his business Finnegan Fabrication, manufactures portable cranes that can be fitted to the interior of commercial vans to help those in construction and similar industries to lift heavy materials in and out.
The Student Enterprise Programme is funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country. Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 450,000 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 is one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the National Enterprise Awards, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.
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