10 August 2016
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Cork Institute of Technology are planning for this summer’s enterprise camp that will see 25 eager teenagers attend a week long summer camp on the Bishopstown Campus. The innovative camp is aimed at motivated, and enthusiastic teens, who want to be more entrepreneurial and learn the ins and outs of starting a business.
CIT’s annual Enterprise Camp gives teenagers the skills and confidence to develop their entrepreneurial spirit while exploring the many benefits of not just ‘getting’ a job, but ‘creating’ a job instead. The camp will run for 5 days, from August 15th to 19th and will be based in the Rubicon Centre, CIT’s on campus incubation centre. It will be an engaging experience and a great opportunity for participants to experience, first-hand, the buzz of a busy start-up incubation centre while receiving advice and knowledge from resident entrepreneurs.
The jam packed programme introduces teens (ages 14-16) to entrepreneurship, teamwork and leadership, helping them to build key skills. Campers will work in small teams and put their creativity to work developing and researching business ideas. Business ideas in recent years have ranged from hi-tech to non-profit.
Camp participants also have the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs who will fill them in on the ups and downs of starting a business, all telling their stories with inspiring motivation and enthusiasm. During the week they will take a trip to learn about the importance of innovating in industry which will help to stimulate innovative ideas amongst the groups. The programme concludes with all groups confidently pitching their ideas to a panel of experts.
Over the last few years the school of business in CIT has seen an increase in teens trying to gain a place on the free camp, from across the county of Cork. As one of the only summer initiatives in Ireland focusing on enterprise for teenagers the camp has grown in popularity each year.
Cork Institute of Technology has led the way in entrepreneurial supports with a top class entrepreneurial ecosystem resulting in CIT student entrepreneurs scooping all of the top prizes in the national student entrepreneur awards organised by Enterprise Ireland.
For further information on the camp visit www.cit.ie/enterprisecamp or www.facebook.com/citenterprisecamp
