Schemes target entrepreneurial spirit in youth

THE need to create an entrepreneurial spirit is being highlighted by Government and its agencies over the past 12 months but young Irish people are already showing a talent for how it can be done. Through a series of competitions run through schools and colleges, teenagers and young adults up and down the country are demonstrating the kind of innovation and business plans that inspire hope for the future of Ireland's smart economy.

One such scheme is the Young Entrepreneur Programme (YEP) for second and third level students in Kerry and Limerick, run by the Tom Crean Business Centre at Institute of Technology Tralee.

"We spend a year getting students to develop a business plan, so not only do they come up with an idea or an innovation but they also have to show it could actually come to fruition," explains centre manager and YEP co-ordinator Breda O'Dwyer. Some of the business ideas being plotted by students range from traditional businesses to new designs and innovations.

"There are many web-based enterprises and more traditional ideas like youth cafés. One student is developing a silicon baby seat for cars, while some other ideas are geared towards the organic food industry," she said.

Some of the major business success stories of recent years have been internet ideas which have earned young Irish people their fortunes, such as the country's largest property website Daft.ie set up in 1997 by Eamonn Fallon and his family when they realised the frustrations of college students trying to secure rental accommodation.

Limerick teenagers John and Patrick Collison sold their Auctomatic website, which helps users of the eBay online auction site to manage their business, for a reported €3 million almost two years ago. The pair were among guest speakers at the 2008 YEP Blue Sky Day, where students heard from some of the country's leading entrepreneurs.

Neither of the Collison brothers had even done the Leaving Certificate yet when their company was sold but Patrick was a previous winner at the Young Scientist competition.

Each January, the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition brings hundreds of bright and innovative minds together under one roof and many potentially million-making ideas can often be found among the competitors at the event. But in order to help bring some of the innovations to life and to give students a chance of moving their projects along from theory to practice, the organisers have added a new element to the 2010 competition, which runs Dublin next week.

About 40 entrants will be given a chance to develop the business knowledge needed to turn their ideas into commercial opportunities as judges select exhibitors whose ideas show potential to become successful businesses.

They will be given mentoring from leading executives of some of the country's top domestic and multinational companies.

They will also be offered workshops on things like global marketing, and innovation principles.