A student entrepreneur who saved 1,000kg of e-waste every year building his own gaming PCs is the winner of the Student Enterprise of the Year.
Jack Cannon, a senior student at Clonkeen College in Dun Laoghaire, built his first PC at the age of 11 with the help of his brother.
He set up Cannon PC at part of the Local Enterprise Offices’ Student Enterprise Programme and so far, has achieved sales of almost €40,000.
Cannon builds upcycled high speed gaming PCs from old PCs being disposed of in office clear outs and for general sale online.
The 23rd Student Enterprise Programme National Finals, held in Mullingar, saw 85 businesses from across the country shortlisted in three main categories.
The Local Enterprise Office initiative, supported by Enterprise Ireland and local authorities, started last September in secondary schools nationwide with over 30,000 students taking part this year.
The initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country, has seen over 450,000 take part in the programme since it began 23 years ago.
Suet & Song, a business set up by Michael O’Keeffe from St Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, creates high-quality, nutrient rich suet cakes for birds during the colder months and it took home the top prize in the Intermediate Category.
A device that helps hikers and farmers cross electric fencing easily won the top award in the Junior category.
Bumblebees is a business set up by Antonia O’Looney, Sophie Gilard, Guiliana Keane and Katelyn Murtagh from Drumshanbo Vocational School in Leitrim.
Their WASP (Wire Anti Shock Protector) product is a device that enables people to push down the electric fence without receiving a shock, enabling them to cross safely.
Meanwhile, the inaugural Student Enterprise Programme Alumni Award was presented to Fenu Health. Set up by sisters Kate and Annie Madden for the Student Enterprise Programme in 2016, the company creates supplements for equine health and their customers include five royal families.
