We’ve been doing some work recently for the County and City Enterprise Boards and have been finding out about the Student Enterprise Awards. I am so incredibly jealous of today’s teenagers, I would have loved to be involved in something like that in school.

Approx 12000 students take part every year and some great ideas bubble to the top every time. They just had the 2008 awards ceremony last week and Banagher College from Co. Offaly won the top award for ‘Farmer On Board’, a farm safety board game for primary school children.

A La Carte Art from Loreto Secondary School in Clonmel, Co Tipperary won the Intermediate Category and DS Planners, a wall planner company from Gaelcholaiste Luimnigh in Co Limerick, won the Junior Category.

If you look at the criteria that are used in judging (e.g. quality of product/service; marketing plan; level of innovation, management of risk) it is clear that they are just what any start-up should be looking at too.

I also think it’s about time the third level colleges ran something similar for non-biz undergraduates like Engineering and Science. Or are they already?