Paul Smith, Bailieborough Community School, (centre), the 2010 winner of the Cavan County Enterprise Board's Student Enterprise Awards in the Intermediate category, went on take first place in the National Student Enterprise Awards with his business Paul's Pix, with Bill Cullen, from The Apprentice;

Sixty six ideas at the 2011 enterprise awards night

With less than a month to go before the Cavan finals of the Student Enterprise Awards, Cavan County Enterprise Board has announced that 66 business ideas are to be included this year. More than 300 students (aged 12-17) from eight secondary schools are working hard to have their business ideas perfected, ready for exhibiting and judging at the Cavan County Finals on Wednesday, March 2 in the Slieve Russell Hotel. A 20% increase from last year in the number of new business ideas entered demonstrates that entrepreneurship at secondary school level is thriving. Educational DVDs to help students prepare for Junior Cert maths; teenage friendly booklets on the importance of healthy eating; guides to road safety: tips on preparing for the driving test; board games to educate on environmental issues; and posters to help with learning Irish, are just some of the businesses short-listed. The awards are part of Cavan County Enterprise Board's commitment to developing an enterprise culture in young people. They offer students the opportunity to take a business from an idea stage through market research, production and sales. Students also have the experience of showing their business ideas at a high profile exhibition, where other students, teachers and a judging panel can view them. The panel of expert judge choose winner from each of the three categories to represent Cavan in the national finals in the Croke Park Convention Centre on April 14. “Our aim is to foster and develop enterprise awareness in secondary school students so they can use the experience of setting up and running an enterprise as the primary means of learning about self-employment, which may be a career option for them in the longer term,†said Vincent Reynolds, CEO of Cavan County Enterprise Board.†Loreto College participates each year, with a dedicated enterprise co-ordinator in Carmel Dolan, who assists the students to prepare. “Our students have taken part since the inception,†said Ms Dolan, “and we're delighted to have an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills in our students at all levels. “I must commend the students who take part as they work tirelessly to ensure that their businesses are prepared for the county finals, as it's not part of the curriculum and necessitates evenings and weekends spent developing the businesses.†Dale Robertson, the business studies teacher at the Royal School, Cavan said the programme is “about making things happen, being resourceful and having the skills to turn ideas into businessesâ€. It encourages a team spirit, he added. “We were delighted to be chosen in 2010 to represent County Cavan in the Junior Category at the National Student Enterprise Awards in the Croke Park Convention Centre and this year we're hoping to be chosen again and our students are working hard to fine tune the seven ideas we will be presenting. “Our students give up their lunch breaks, work after school and weekends to develop their businesses and I want to praise and thank them for their hard work and dedication for which the whole school community is proud.â€