Galway-Mayo college wins enterprise contest

Four students from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology have won the inaugural Newstalk 106-108 fm Student Enterprise Competition.

The winning team beat off strong competition from other finalists from the institutes of technology in Dundalk, Blanchardstown and Dublin.

For their prize, the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology team - Cathal Flanagan, Dermot Healy, Conor Moran and Eoin Tighe - and their mentor, Shane Moran, will travel to the Caribbean where they will shadow "real time" decisionmakers in the Digicel Group.

The competition is designed to foster a spirit of enterprise among students attending institutes of technology throughout Ireland.

The format allows participants to research real-life Irish companies and gives students the opportunity to take a more practical approach to dealing with business issues.

"For today's students, there is huge pressure to achieve very high results in exam situations, which does not always reflect the reality of enterprise," said competition chairman Denis O'Brien.

"The format of the competition allows participants to take a more practical approach and encourages teamwork among them."

With 259 teams entering in the preliminary round, more than 1,000 students from 14 institutes of technology from all over Ireland took part in the competition which was held in association with The Irish Times and Campus.ie.

"I am delighted at the level of interest that has been generated from within the colleges," said Mr O'Brien.

"I hope that the experience gained by all the students throughout the competition will benefit them long after they have graduated from college."

The judging panel for the competition included Elaine Geraghty, chief executive of Newstalk; Paul Farrell, group marketing director at The Irish Times; and Ann Heraty, founder and chief executive of CPL Resources, who last year became the first woman to win the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.