Student Inc., Ireland’s longest running student entrepreneur accelerator programme, has been selected to represent Ireland as one of five finalists for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program of the Year at the 2022 European Triple E Awards on Entrepreneurship and Engagement in Higher Education which will take place which during the ACEEU Forum in Florence, Italy on Tuesday next, June 28th.
The programme enables third level students to assess the feasibility of their business ideas as well as take them to the next stage of business development including launching and growing their businesses. What started as a programme, delivered in a single location on one campus at Munster Technological University (then CIT) in 2011, Student Inc. is now offered across five universities on fifteen campuses spread across the island of Ireland. The programme is currently open nationally to 44,000 students to apply and compete for a place on the programme.
The regional EI offices support the Student Inc. programme by providing access to personnel and their skills as well as access to their market research centre. The Enterprise Ireland Market Research Centre offers Student Inc. participant’s access to market intelligence in the form of company, sector, market and country information needed to explore opportunities and compete in international markets.
MTU is renowned for its success in entrepreneurship development having produced in excess of 500 start-up companies to date which employ approx. 3,000 people throughout the South West region, as well as providing entrepreneurship training to more than 1,000 students annually. MTU’s multidisciplinary student entrepreneur teams have an enviable record of achievement in national and international product development and innovation competitions.
Martin Corkery, Regional Director at Enterprise Ireland, said:
“Third level students and entrepreneurs are a seed bed for future business start-ups and have a vital role to play in helping Ireland to get back on its feet by stimulating more micro and small business activity and creating jobs. These are our successful entrepreneurs of the future and Student Inc. is providing the impetus to help them to start their own business as a real career option.”
