DCU student Sineád Foy finished in an impressive second place in the gradireland National Student Challenge last week.
Foy was one of over 5,600 students who entered the competition, which began last October, by completing a 40-minute online test. Just 80 of these entrants made it to the final, which was held in the Quinn Business School in UCD.
Foy, a Business Studies graduate who is currently doing a masters in Marketing, was “delighted” with her performance, and hopes that it will lead to big things for her in the future.
“It was loads of fun and I can’t believe that I managed to finish where I did.
“I competed in the same competition last year and I only managed to win one challenge. This year, I was just one point off first place and I’m absolutely delighted.
“It will also open a lot of doors for me. It looks good on the CV, I can mention it in interviews and I made a lot of contacts so hopefully it will lead to a few job opportunities in the future.”
The competition involved eight challenges set by leading employers Lidl, EMC, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Telefonica, SAP, Ernst & Young and Microsoft.
Finalists were broken up into groups and given the day to attempt these challenges, which tested qualities such as leadership, teamwork, innovation and customer focus.
The winner was Duncan McGregor from University of Ulster, while Ciara Browne from UCD finished in third place. The employers also awarded special bonus prizes to the students who they felt stood out on the day.
Jenny Adamson of gradireland believes the competition offers a good opportunity for top employers to sample some of the talented students who are about to enter the workforce and hopes that it will provide good opportunities for the students in years to come.
“The competition allows students to showcase themselves in front of some of the best employers in the country.
“As well as that, employers will get to see some top students and challenge them in ways that they wouldn’t normally be able to. So it really is beneficial to both the employers and the students”, she said.
Cian Murray
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