The Cork City Schools Enterprise Programme, run by the Local Enterprise Office, Cork City (LEO), today launched this year’s Business Ideas Competition at The River Lee Hotel. The aim of the competition is to encourage second-level students to think creatively about business. Students from first year right-through to sixth year are eligible to enter. Entry forms have been sent to all Cork City Schools. Closing date for entries is Monday, 2nd March 2015. Winners of this year’s competition will receive a state of the art tablet in both the Junior and Senior categories.

Over 550 second level students from 16 schools in Cork City entered the competition in 2014. In this year’s competition students are being asked to take an existing product or service on the market, in Ireland or internationally, and outline how the product/service could be improved or altered to make it more innovative and appealing to customers.

Commenting on the competition, Adrienne Rodgers, Head of Enterprise at LEO, Cork City said: “This competition is very easy to enter and will get students thinking creatively about business. We introduced it to our Schools Enterprise Programme, so that students gain a good understanding that not all business ideas come from ground breaking new inventions. In fact, many of the most successful business ideas we see come from entrepreneurs putting a new slant on an existing concept to make it more innovative.”

This years School Enterprise Programme Mini-Company regional final will be held in UCC on the Friday, 6th of March. Winners of the Business Ideas Competition will be announced in April 2015. For further information contact: info@corkschoolsenterprise.ie