St Patrick's College Dungannon pupils scoop top entrepreneur award

Branding themselves as ‘Enlighten Hope’, the St Patrick’s College pupils have written and illustrated a series of stories dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy from a child friendly point of view.

They have taken their product far and wide – visiting publishers in Dublin and New York, and securing a deal to sell the books on the Amazon Kindle Store.

After winning the title Company of the Year at a special awards ceremony at Belfast City Hall organised by the charity Young Enterprise Northern Ireland and the University of Ulster Business School, the team will go on to represent Northern Ireland in the Young Enterprise UK Finals at the Emirates Stadium in July. The competition involved a daunting pitch and interview at Invest NI Headquarters in Belfast facing a panel of top business moguls including David Elliott, Editor at Ulster Business, and Gerry McGinn, Chairman of the Strategic Investment Board.

It was a double success for St Patrick’s College on the night, as Enlighten Hope’s Managing Director, Iveta Liovinaite was named the Entrepreneur of the Future Runner Up.

Iveta said: “It has been such a privilege to participate in the Young Enterprise Company Programme this year.

“As Managing Director of Enlighten Hope I speak on behalf of the team when I say that this has been a life changing experience for us all.

“Our personal development in terms of business acumen, confidence, ability and self-belief has surpassed our wildest dreams.”