Kildimo NS.
With Limerick’s most famous young entrepreneurs, John and Patrick Collison of Stripe, being named as the EY Entrepreneurs of the Year in October 2015 and now representing Ireland at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo in June 2016, it’s only fitting that Limerick is seeing more budding entrepreneurs showing their talents and vision.
Over six hundred students in twenty two Primary Schools in Limerick have been taking part in this year’s Junior Entrepreneur Programme.
The Programme which was founded by Jerry Kennelly of Tweak.com and developed by the Institute of Technology in Tralee, Mary Immaculate College Limerick and Shannon Development brings entrepreneurship into primary schools. It helps students develop existing skills such as literacy and numeracy but also new skills such as problem solving, technology, communication, team building, confidence and creative thinking.
The participating schools showcased their completed projects in Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel & Spa, Adare on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th April.
Projects showcased on the day included board games, a website, personalised copybooks, food products and even an App to teach children the counties of Ireland. The atmosphere was electric as the Junior Entrepreneurs visited the other exhibitors and learned about their projects.
Diarmuid Geary, co-founder of Pallas Foods and sponsor of JEP Limerick said “These 11 and 12 year old business people are just as enthusiastic and capable as more seasoned business people and I’d be very confident for Limerick’s future under their watch. The objective was to stimulate an enterprise culture and I am delighted that this programme is making such a positive impact in this regard and it was clear to see at the County Showcase Days”.
Mary Fitzgerald, of Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel & Spa and JEP Limerick supporter and partner added “The JEP County Showcase Day was a great success. It was fantastic to see all the children displaying their products and services and interacting with each other about their businesses. It was clear to see that this programme creates a real entrepreneurial flair in the children and does wonders in developing skills and their self-confidence.”
Class teacher, Elaine O’Mahoney from Monaleen National School, Limerick said “This has been a fantastic project to be involved in and the children have engaged enthusiastically with the concept from the outset. The project integrates with many aspects of the curriculum especially English and Maths however they’ve also had the opportunity to develop skills in IT, marketing, manufacturing, sales, customer service and finance. Suddenly, they are interested in calculating percentages and working out profit and loss! From a social aspect the entire project promotes the development of team work and collaborative skills and it encourages creative thinking. Overall it’s been a hugely worthwhile activity.”
For more information go to juniorentrepreneur.ie