DCU Business School Masters students participated in the ‘School Enterprise Challenge’ for the fourth year running in 2016.
The School Enterprise Challenge is a global business planning and start-up awards programme for secondary school children across the world. It is designed to help schools provide their students with valuable work-readiness, entrepreneurship and life skills through facilitating them to research, plan, set up and run a real student-led business.
This year over 5,000 schools participated in the School Enterprise Challenge in more than 104 countries around the world and were in with the chance to win up to $50,000 in prizes.
The Challenge also helps schools make extra income for facilities or a social cause of their choice. The Challenge takes place in poverty stricken countries and aims to facilitate schools in improving on-site conditions.
DCU Business School Next Generation Management students participated in the challenge, acting as mentors and judges, facilitated by their lecturer Roisin Lyons. This year their participation allowed for an additional 500 schools to be included in the competition. These included high schools from Jamaica, India, Rwanda, South Africa and Singapore.
For Next Generation Management students in DCU, the aim of participating is to gain an insight into the extent to which social, ethical, environmental, local and global issues need be considered from a strategic perspective and the appropriate business responses and approaches for dealing with such issues and stakeholders.
“It provided a reality check in relation to how fortunate we are in this country and the whole experience helped to put into perspective some of our own problems and issues. It was a very refreshing experience and certainly one I would recommend.” said Jack Larkin, Master’s student and SEC participant.
A representative from the Bali Bharati school in Nepal summed up the benefits of the challenge stating ‘the monetary gain from the School Enterprise Challenge stands nowhere compared to the gain made in terms of entrepreneurship skills, marketing skills and a horde of other benefits and real life-hands on experience.’
Evelyn Walsh
Image Credit: DCU