Shauna O’Keeffe and David Peskett, both sixth year students at Castleisland Community College, represented Ireland in the Youth Start Entrepreneurship Network in Austria last weekend and they won silver in the Ideas Category for their innovative app, Bright Minds.
Their invention lets students chat to a teacher confidentially during a lesson.
As national winners of the Foróige Entrepreneurship Competition in 2022, they worked with Laura Leahy the Business Studies teacher and School Enterprise Co-ordinator and with Foróige Mentor, Stephen to formally transform their design into a service.
Competition in Kitzbühel, Austria
The students travelled with one member of their family and Mr. Power on an all-expenses paid trip to the international competition in Kitzbühel, Austria.
There were 15 European countries represented and 200 competitors taking part.
Shauna and David each received €500 as runners-up in the competition.
Congrats from Principal Lonergan
Principal Teresa Lonergan in congratulating Shauna and David said that they have worked hard behind the scenes to achieve this outstanding success.
“Entrepreneurship is strongly encouraged in the school and students from first to sixth year are encouraged to take part in Foróige and the Student Enterprise Awards. Laura Leahy mentors the students throughout the year and last year alone students won the senior and junior category of the Kerry Student Awards along with Duais na Gaeilge.
Promising Futures Ahead
“The first year students won third place nationally in the junior category of the National Student Enterprise Awards.
“Shauna and David also won the Kinia Creative Tech Fest 2023 and they both have very promising careers ahead of them,” said Ms. Lonergan.
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
