Students to promote Young Enterprise products in Derry

Foyleside will be taken over by 14-25 year old students from across the city who are competing in this year’s Young Enterprise Company, Team, Quick start and Start Up Programmes.

The charity’s leading entrepreneurial programmes allows students to create a unique business then produce, promote and sell their products or services and go head to head with their peers for the chance to compete at this year’s NI final, UK final and beyond.

The students can create a for-profit business or social enterprises and are encouraged to think about how their business can ‘do good’ for society.

This year students have created some outstanding innovations from challenging the issue of plastic waste, reducing recycling or aiming to breakdown the stigma surrounding the sensitive topic of mental well-being.

They include the ‘Lights for Life’ by Lisneal College, handcrafted candles which they hope will shed light to those in need, ‘Pick ‘n’ Print’ from St. Mary’s College, which allows customers to personalize messages for gift bags, ‘Mood Scents’ from Foyle College which are scented candles to help relieve stress and PositivTea from Lumen Christi College. These are mugs with positive quotes and herbal teas to help combat stress.

Carol Fitzsimons MBE, Young Enterprise Chief Executive said: “Young Enterprise is committed to giving all young people in Northern Ireland the chance to develop and practice these skills. Skills that they will need to succeed in the world of work. Embedding entrepreneurial education into school programmes is one of the most important ways to prepare our children for life beyond the classroom. Today students need much more than a good academic grounding to excel, and learning linked to real-life situations is always more meaningful.”

The regional trade fair takes place at Foyleside this Friday, February 1, from 10am.