A team of DCU students represented Ireland at the Enactus World Cup, which took place in Cancun, Mexico, from September 29th to October 1st.
The competition brings together an international network of students, academics and business leaders to showcase how members are enabling social progress through entrepreneurial action.
Hannah Dobson led the team of undergraduates which included Liam Redmond, Olayiwola Ogunsanya, Katie Mannion, Ciara Egan, Ciara Ennis and country leader, Laura Dennehy. The social projects they presented on were ‘HeadstArts’ and ‘AkiDwA Socially Conscious and Ethical Clothing’.
The DCU students were first in their league to present at the three-day event, delivering a 17-minute presentation to a panel of judges from companies including KPMG, Walmart, Unilever and Microsoft.
Ireland competed against university teams from India, Ukraine and Japan for a place in the semi-final, with their display strong enough to secure third place in their league in the opening round.
The first two teams in their league, from India and Ukraine progressed to a semi-final, with the Technical University of Munich scooping first prize, while a UK team from the University of Southampton achieved second place.
Hannah Dobson was responsible for her team’s PowerPoint presentation and described her experience to The College View. “Halfway through the presentation I had tears in my eyes and when it was over I cried. I am so so proud of them. Their passion shone through so well and they have achieved so much”, she said.
HeadstARTs was set up to empower and enable people with intellectual disabilities through the arts, while AkiDwA had an ethical clothing line developed.
Hannah Dobson spoke of the support the team received from home and abroad at the competition. “We were a bit disappointed to see that it wasn’t covered on a national level as it is such a renowned event. But the support from our peers and college has been brilliant. It’s great to know that DCU is proud of us.”
DCU was chosen to represent Ireland at the World Cup after winning Enactus Ireland National competition for social entrepreneurship.
Martina Brophy
Image Credit: Colm Mahady / Fennells Fennell Photography
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