Dublin students encouraged to sign up for Dublin’s Top Teen Enterprise programme

Second level schools across Dublin City are being encouraged to sign-up for this year’s Student Enterprise Programme (SEP) which will see over 28,000 students nationally set-up and run a mini enterprise over the course of the academic year.

The Student Enterprise Programme has been a staple on the secondary school calendar in Dublin City for over 20 years with many students continuing their entrepreneurial journey long after they leave school, making their mark on the business world.

Greg Swift, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Dublin City, says “We invite all second level schools to participate in this year’s Student Enterprise Programme. This programme is important to us as it develops real entrepreneurial skills in the second level students that participate. Creating a deep pool of entrepreneurs will benefit the whole economy because these students will become our next generation of start your own business clients.”

Last year’s Dublin City winners in the Senior Category came from St Declan’s College. Transition Year students Alfin Binu and Hans Rukesh were crowned Overall Winners of the senior category with their innovative business idea “Quris”. “Quris” is a medical identification and referral system through the aid of QR codes. Simply scanning the code will give medical professionals or the public access to medical information that could have a lifesaving impact.

In the Intermediate Category Anastazjai Kadzierska, Sophie Postek, and Cheryl Adeleke, students from Our Lady of Mercy College Beaumont came out on top with their company Glow & Co. where they created beautiful handmade candles. While in the Junior Category Stratford College students Yihan Reddy, Eli McQuillan, Christian Braz, and Roberto Mizzoni took the top prize with their company Slobber Stopper; developing clean solutions for playing with your dog by creating a fabric toy cover.

An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices nationwide, the Student Enterprise Programme is the country’s largest enterprise programme for second level students, with this year marking the 23^rd year of the hugely successful programme.  It has had over 400,000 participants since its inception, and it is expected that almost 28,000 students from approximately 500 second level schools across the country will take part this year.

Students from 1^st year to 6^th 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 Dublin City Council within the Dublin City Local Authority area. There are local coordinators available 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.

Enterprise teacher Gareth Mc Mahon from St. Patrick’s Classical School in Navan, whose student Seán Finnegan took top place in the senior category at the 2024 National Student Enterprise Final, says taking part in the SEP is a great way for schools to give their students the opportunity to put the theory of business into practice in real life situations. He says the benefits for schools taking part are immense – “The Student Enterprise Programme brings the business book to life and unlocks the creativity, talent and entrepreneurship within our students. The benefits to the school are also immense including local and national PR opportunities and in-school guest speakers throughout the year. I would highly recommend other teachers to get involved”.

Seán Finnegan, through his business Finnegan Fabrication High Lift, designed and manufactured a highly innovative portable crane that can be fitted to the interior of commercial vans to help workers lift heavy materials in and out of the vehicle.

Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 400,000 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 2024/2025 at https://www.studententerprise.ie/, which will feature regular blogs and houses