Young Entrepreneur Programme and Awards
Kerry’s Next Generation of Business Leaders
The “Young Entrepreneur Programme and Awards” is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship as a natural career choice. It is our stated mission to help identify, inform, recognize and celebrate Kerry’s next generation of business leaders by fostering student entrepreneurship through a comprehensive training course, interaction with entrepreneurs, mentoring and a business plan competition.
The Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT), Kerry Technology Park, Jerry Kennelly (winner Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and former CEO of Stockbyte) and the Tom Crean Centre have pooled their expertise and resources to develop the Entrepreneur Programme aimed at 15-23 year olds in Kerry’s 2nd and 3rd level institutions.
The programme is very ambitious and includes:
- Comprehensive and custom designed syllabus
- Active involvement of key regional and national entrepreneurs in its design, implementation and evaluation
- On-line support via dedicated website
- Work books, website and business books for students
- Training and resource packs for teachers
- Prize Fund – top prize of €5,000 plus a number of runner-up prizes
Interaction Between Students and Entrepreneurs
The programme is critically supported by a series of high profile events to facilitate interaction between students and entrepreneurs/expert mentors:
- The BLUE SKY DAY seeks to create a dynamic forum for the students to learn from and question a selection of inspirational entrepreneurs [Padraig O’ Ceidigh, {Aer Arann}, Eamonn & Brian Fallon {Daft.ie}, Brian McCarthy {Fexco}, etc] who will share their secrets. We aim to have all students registered on the program attend this day.
- The ‘Business Boot Camp’ seeks to create a more focused conversion of the student’s ideas and knowledge into a realizable business. The Entrepreneurs will be joined by a series of expert mentors who will collectively share their ideas for creating a successful business start-up and provide real world tips and provide real world tips for creating a killer business plan.
Those who have created this vision hope that all of our efforts will leave a mark on the students who undertake this course. They may develop or become local or global entrepreneurs in the business. Or alternatively bring entrepreneurial thinking to their place of work, to Government or to education itself.
Young Entrepreneur Programme and Awards is a unique programme which is the result of educators, state bodies, entrepreneurs, private sector companies and individuals pooling their resources for the common good.
Visit the site at www.youngentrepreneur.ie