Pupils shine at enterprise awards
By Hayden Moore
STUDENTS from three local schools battled through a pool of some 29,000 students from 500 schools to represent South Dublin at the National Finals of the Student Enterprise Programme.
With 72 student enterprises competing at the showpiece, students from Citywise Eduction in Tallaght, St Joseph’s College in Lucan, and Loreto High School Beaufort were among them.
Citywise students Dylan Turner, Adam Jeziorski and Anthony Konstantynowicz with their award
Each student enterprise was tasked with creating and running a business, needing to show evidence of sales of their service or product to the judges.
Running through the school year, the secondary school students get to experience everything an entrepreneur would, and in the National Final’s in May one student business from each region gets to compete.
In the Junior category, Dylan Turner along with Adam Jeziorski and Anthony Konstantynowicz from Citywise Education in Jobstown created the business called Wonder Inc. which delivers personalised gift boxes directly to loved ones.
Quick Vet was set up by Hannah Lyons from Loreto High School in the Intermediate category – with the online veterinary booking service offering instant service to clinics near consumers at the click of a button.
Hannah’s business has a built-in appointment making service with local vets meaning pet owners no longer need to ring multiple vets to find an available appointment.
St Colmcilles took part in the South Dublin County finals
In the Senior category, Tara Hallowed, Leah Graham, and Neha Joice from St Joseph’s College created Pawtastic Pals, a variety of eco-friendly dog treats, toys and accessories.
Pawtastic Pals offers colour-coordinated sets for dogs, through a sustainable environmental model.
St Joseph’s Lucan and Kishogue Community School took part in the County Finals.
Run by 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities nationwide, judging across the three categories of the National Finals took place virtually at Croke Park through electronic submissions this year.
Unfortunately the four local schools did not win in their categories, but they will take great esteem after battling through such a large pool of contestants to reach the National Finals and showcase their projects.
Head of Enterprise at the South Dublin Local Enterprise Office, Tom Rooney, heaped the praise on local entries for their valiant efforts.
“We would like to congratulate the students, their families and their teachers for reaching the National Finals which is a great achievement,” Mr Rooney said.
“They are all impressive ambassadors for student enterprise in the county.”
