The Innovation in Business Centre (IiBC ) at GMIT Castlebar has announced the winners of the GMIT Student Innovation Awards 2011.
First prize went to Joan Finnerty from Ballintubber, Claremorris, a fourth year Business and Accounting student at GMIT Castlebar. She received a cheque for €1,000, business mentoring support worth €500 and two months free incubation space in the IiBC.
The second prize was awarded to Sharon Kenny and Christine McCutcheon, both studying towards an honours degree in outdoor education at GMIT Castlebar. They received a cheque for €500 and business mentoring support worth €500.
Third and fourth prizes went to Yvonne Staunton, business student, and Laura Taylor, outdoor education student, who won €300 and €200 respectively.
The remaining finalists Anthony Holmes, Liam Joyce and Sinéad O’Hara, were awarded €50 each.
The competition, which has been running for the past five years, attracted some 60 entries from students of GMIT Castlebar. Sixteen were then chosen to complete a business plan and six were selected to present to an external panel, which included Robert Grealis, The Discovery Partnership; John Quinn, Surface Power; and Michael O’Boyle, Lionbridge Technologies.
Maria Staunton (Manager of IiBC ) commended all the finalists and encouraged them to seriously look at enterprise and innovation as a career choice in the future. She said: “These future graduates have the potential to form the next generation of Irish enterprises”.
The winners were announced at a reception in the Innovation in Business Centre.
The main sponsors of the GMIT Student Innovation Awards 2011 were Shell, Surface Power, Lionbridge Technologies and The Discovery Partnership.
