Irish Students Aim to Shape Ireland’s Future With Launch of the Enactus National Competition
A selection of Ireland’s most promising young social entrepreneurs recently joined Bank of Ireland ambassador and Leinster Rugby star, Sene Naoupu to officially launch the 2019 Enactus Ireland National Competition. Enactus, a global social entrepreneurship movement, partners students, academics and business leaders to develop socially responsible business models with the potential to benefit people in need. As part of the competition, students from Irish colleges and universities have identified key social issues and developed projects which are creating positive social impact to create a brighter future.
This year, students have targeted some of the country’s largest social issues, including: education, autism awareness and refugee welfare. Projects include:
- 2030 Leaders (Enactus TCD) empowers disadvantaged young people by educating them on the UN Sustainable Development Goals – knowledge that they then use to create fun and engaging workshops with primary school children.
- Understanding Le Chéile (Enactus NUI Galway) seeks to raise awareness of autism through interactive workshops in schools and businesses around Ireland.
- ReStart’s (Enactus UL) aim is to Integrate refugees and asylum seekers into Irish society by providing them with culinary skills to start their own business.
The National Competition will see teams from ten universities and colleges across Ireland:
- Cork Institute of Technology
- Dublin City University
- Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design & Technology
- Maynooth University
- National University of Ireland, Galway
- Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin
- Technological University Dublin
- University College Cork
- University College Dublin
- University College Limerick
These ten institutions will compete for the opportunity to represent Enactus Ireland at this year’s Enactus World Cup, taking place in Silicon Valley.
Since September, each team of students has gained access to senior mentorship from a range of Enactus partners such as KPMG, Bank of Ireland, Aer Lingus, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Unilever.
The Enactus Competition Final will take on May 30th in the Chartered Accountants Ireland.
