Student entrepreneurs enjoy Market Day

A NORTHSIDE school held an event recently which showed that its students have great flair for entrepreneurship. 

Around 140 students, involved in 46 mini companies, exhibited at the Market Day held at Our Lady of Mercy College, Beaumont.  

The school has enjoyed huge success in Student Enterprise competitions in recent years. Students who are successful in the school competition go on to represent the school in the Dublin finals winning through to the National Student Enterprise Finals and other national competitions. The school has won numerous awards at national level including best in their respective category awards and best in class for their use of social media.

Preparation for the awards is carried out through the schools’ Mini Company module which is part of the Business Studies & Transition Year (TY) Programmes. This module is offered to 1st, 2nd and TY students every year. 

It encourages students to be creative and to explore the world of business and running a company. In this module, students learn about entrepreneurship, the functions of an organisation and the wider business environment. 

The mini company module aims to enhance the students’ general education, leading to the personal and social development of the student through the study of business and enterprise.

As part of the schools’ mini-company module, guest speakers are invited in and students attend numerous workshops ranging from brainstorming sessions for idea generation to how to market your company using various mediums. 

Students are encouraged to develop initiative, be innovative and to foster an entrepreneurial mind-set. 

In addition to the above, students utilise technology and social media to learn, to communicate, to work, to develop teamwork skills by working together and to bond  in a responsible and friendly manner. 

They learn first-hand the intricacies of starting up and running a successful and profitable business.  

The culmination of all this learning results in a wonderful high energy Market Day that students, parents, teachers and the wider community thoroughly enjoy every year.