Salesian Secondary College, Pallaskenry, with F.A.R.M, was announced winner of the Junior Achievement Company of the Year 2013 hosted in Dublin last week. There product is called the Cow Tail Lifter, a device, based on a well known farming technique, to be used by farmers to deal with ‘troublesome’ kicking cows in the milking parlour.
The team will represent Ireland, competing against 32 European teams at the JA Company of the Year Competition in London in July.
With almost 2500 Transition Year students countrywide taking part in Junior Achievement’s Company Programme, this year’s winners proved astute entrepreneurs.
The JA Company programme challenges students to start their own business and mentors them as they move through the entrepreneur’s experience: coming up with ideas, developing from concept to prototype; working to secure financing and other resources thus learning at first-hand what it takes to bring a product to market.
This year, almost 2,500 Transition Year students countrywide participated in the JA Company Programme. In the face of that level of competition, our finalists earned the opportunity to showcase their business acumen at a Trade Fair and to present to a Dragon’s Den-type panel.
As Regional Winners, eight teams from Athlone Community College; Ard Scoil Na Trionoide, Athy; Beech Hill College, Monaghan; St. Columba’s College, Donegal; Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair; Salesian Secondary College, Limerick; C.B.S., Carrick on Suir and Loreto College, Cavan participated in the JA Trade Fair from May 1st to 2nd at citi. Each worked extremely hard to convince the judges at interviews and in Dragon’s Den-type presentations that that they deserved to take the national title.
The National Award Winners now go on to represent Ireland at the European Final in London in July and have a hard act to follow as last year’s winners, who were also from Salesian College Pallaskenry, developed an app to translate between spoken and Irish Sign Language, went on to win the European competition, featured on the Late Late Show and will be guests at the final this year.
Judges –Oliver Daniels, R&D Leader at Avaya, Tadgh O‘Toole, Managing Director at likecharity and Karina Howley Head of Corporate Responsibility KPMG, were very impressed with the level of competition. They had a tough decision to make after receiving each company’s business plan and listening to a professional business pitch and presentation.