Students Entrepreneurial Programme 2025-2026
- Heim
- Students Entrepreneurial Programme 2025-2026
The Journey of an Idea – Year Two Launches in Carrick-on-Suir
THE Quest for Tourism Innovation
Carrick-on-Suir was buzzing with excitement on 23 October 2025 as The Journey of an Idea – Year Two was officially launched at the Carraig Hotel. Following a hugely successful first year, the Student Entrepreneurial Programme has returned with fresh ambition, inviting students to shape the future of tourism in their hometown.
This year’s theme, The Quest for Tourism Innovation, arrives at the perfect moment. With Tipperary named in Lonely Planet’s Top 25 Destinations in the World for 2026, the county is now firmly on the world stage. For local students, this recognition offers a real platform to contribute to how visitors discover and enjoy Carrick-on-Suir.
Using the Quest Map as their starting point, students will develop new ideas for visitor experiences — celebrating what already exists, while imagining exciting new adventures for the future. The programme will take a project-based approach, with monthly creative challenges leading to a judged showcase next April.
The initiative is led by Entdecken Sie Carrick-on-Suir, supported by experts from Fáilte Ireland, Mirador Media, and internationally renowned mural artist Fintan Magee, whose stunning new biodiversity mural now overlooks the town. Guest speakers Sheila Dooley-Walsh, Marc Roosli, and Fintan Magee encouraged students to think creatively, communicate with confidence, and take pride in their place.
Die Reise einer Idee is more than a competition — it’s an invitation for young people to lead, create, and imagine what’s possible.
Here’s to a year of bold thinking, inspired storytelling, and new journeys — all beginning right here in Carrick-on-Suir.
WHAT Is the journey of an idea?
The mission is to encourage creativity, bold action, and meaningful contributions for the betterment of Carrick-on-Suir and beyond. This programme isn’t just about entrepreneurship; it’s about recognising the value of ideas, transforming them into action, and showcasing their impact on shaping a vibrant and thriving community.
The programme offers a £25,000 bursary over five years, with £5,000 awarded annually to support student-led projects that enhance tourism, create vibrancy, and attract visitors to Carrick-on-Suir.
HOW TO GET STARTED
HÄUFIG GESTELLTE FRAGEN
Warum war Die Reise einer Idee erstellt?
Es wurde geschaffen, um Studenten wie Ihnen dabei zu helfen, coole Ideen zu entwickeln und diese in echte Projekte umzusetzen, die Ihre Stadt Carrick-on-Suir verbessern könnten. Mithilfe des Student Enterprise Programme erhalten Sie die Tools und die Unterstützung, die Sie benötigen, um Ihre Ideen umzusetzen.
What is the Enterprise Bursary Returns — €5,000 Funding for Big Ideas?
We’re proud to introduce the Unternehmensstipendium, a €5,000 annual fund running from 2024 to 2029. Students from the town’s three secondary schools can pitch creative ideas that boost tourism, increase town vibrancy, and attract visitors to Carrick-on-Suir.
Projects that best support the goals of Entdecken Sie Carrick-on-Suir will receive funding to turn their ideas into real, working businesses.
This isn’t just a competition — it’s a journey. Students will follow their concept from inspiration to action, learning how an idea becomes a business while making a meaningful contribution to their community.
We invite all students to get involved, think boldly, and help shape Carrick-on-Suir’s future.
It’s your town. Your ideas. Your impact.
What’s this year’s theme?
This year’s theme, The Quest for Tourism Innovation, arrives at the perfect moment. With Tipperary named in Lonely Planet’s Top 25 Destinations in the World for 2026, the county is now firmly on the world stage. For local students, this recognition offers a real platform to contribute to how visitors discover and enjoy Carrick-on-Suir.
Using the Quest Map as their starting point, students will develop new ideas for visitor experiences — celebrating what already exists, while imagining exciting new adventures for the future. The programme will take a project-based approach, with monthly creative challenges leading to a judged showcase next April.
What should we do?
Students will be tasked with creating unique visitor experiences using the Quest Map as their inspiration, celebrating the attractions we already have, while imagining what new adventures might invite more people to discover Carrick-on-Suir.
Is it project based?
Year Two adopts a project-based approach. After each monthly webinar, participants will complete a creative mini-task, from one-minute videos to short summaries and storyboards. All projects will culminate in a judged showcase next April.
Wo kann ich das Student Resource Pack herunterladen?
Entdecken Sie Ideen und Anleitungen in diesem herunterladbaren Ressourcenpaket Hier.
Wie wird dieses Programm der Stadt Carrick-on-Suir helfen?
Your projects could make the town a better, more vibrant place to visit for tourists.
Welche Unterstützung erhalten wir während des fünfjährigen Programms?
You’ll get access to workshops, planning tools, and one-on-one help from tourism mentors.
Können wir mit Freunden an Projekten arbeiten oder müssen wir alleine arbeiten?
Du kannst durchaus mit deinen Freunden zusammenarbeiten! Teamarbeit wird gefördert, aber wenn du ein Projekt alleine durchführen möchtest, ist das auch in Ordnung. Beide Optionen sind willkommen.
Wie überprüft das Programm den Erfolg unserer Projekte?
Success will be measured by how much progress you make. You’ll get feedback from your mentors and the community to see how your project is making a difference.
Warum ist Kreativität in diesem Programm wichtig?
Kreativität ist der Schlüssel! Sie werden ermutigt, über den Tellerrand hinauszublicken und einzigartige Ideen zu entwickeln. Workshops helfen Ihnen dabei, originelle Problemlösungen zu finden und Ihr Projekt hervorzuheben.
What kind of projects can we create for The Quest for Tourism Innovation?
If you’re using the Quest Map as your inspiration, your idea can:
✅ celebrate a current attraction
✅ improve the visitor experience
✅ or imagine a brand-new adventure for the future
Can you give me example ideas?
Here are some examples to spark ideas:
✅ 1. Themed Walking or Storytelling Tours
Create a new visitor trail — spooky ghost tour, Tudor drama tour, music heritage walk, GAA legends, river folklore or cycling history. You could design the route, challenges, QR codes, or short audio guides.
✅ 2. A Local Food Quest
Use cafés, restaurants, and markets on the map to build a “Taste of Carrick” food trail — stamps, challenges, recipes, or a food passport.
✅ 3. New Challenges on the Quest Map
Invent a set of fun challenges — selfies at landmarks, nature spotting, puzzles, history clues, or hidden surprises.
✅ 4. A River Suir Adventure Experience
Kayaking treasure hunt, nature activity pack, birdwatching challenge, fishing passport, or eco-tour ideas focused on the river.
✅ 5. Augmented-Reality History Moments
What if visitors could scan a QR code and watch history come alive? Students could storyboard an AR idea: knights, Tudors, boatmen, musicians, famous characters, or dramatic historical scenes.
✅ 6. A Festival or Market Concept
Think of a new annual event — medieval day, music festival, cycling challenge, food fair, biodiversity festival, or street art weekend.
✅ 7. A Blueway Experience Pack
Design a family-friendly adventure kit with maps, games, facts and animal spotting tasks along the Blueway.
✅ 8. A “Quest for Kids”
Imagine a children’s treasure hunt with characters, mascots, badges, colouring pages, puzzles and rewards.
✅ 9. A Visitors’ Welcome Pack or Digital Guide
Short videos, reels, drone shots, interviews, a podcast, or mini documentaries that bring the map to life.
✅ 10. A “My Town Memory” Project
Collect stories from older generations and turn them into something visitors can experience — recordings, panels, murals, or an audio trail. They might even get into the Tides of Time Exhibition due to open in the Heritage Centre next May!
What matters most in the Journey of an Idea?
You don’t need to build the full idea — you just need to:
- show creativity
- think about visitors
- use the Quest Map
- and explain why it will help Carrick-on-Suir
The best ideas could become REAL visitor experiences.
FOR PARENTS
Wir freuen uns, Ihnen vorstellen zu dürfen Die Reise einer Idee, ein neues Unternehmerprogramm, das Studierende dazu inspirieren und unterstützen soll, eigene Ideen für Unternehmen oder Gemeinschaftsinitiativen zu entwickeln. Dieses Programm zielt darauf ab, Kreativität, Problemlösung und Unternehmergeist bei den Studierenden zu fördern und ihnen dabei zu helfen, Fähigkeiten zu entwickeln, die sowohl ihrer persönlichen Entwicklung als auch unserer Gemeinschaft zugute kommen.
We have created a Studentenhandbuch um weitere Einzelheiten über das Programm, seine Ziele und die Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten der Studierenden bereitzustellen.
Wenn Sie Fragen haben, können Sie unsere Get in Touch form.
Wir ermutigen Sie, die Teilnahme Ihres Kindes an dieser spannenden Chance zu unterstützen und seinen Unternehmergeist zu fördern.
Bleiben Sie dran für Updates, einschließlich unseres kommenden TikTok-Videos, das bald mit allen Schülern geteilt wird!
Vielen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung.
Beste grüße,
Sarah-Jane Cleary
Handels- und Tourismusmanager
Entdecken Sie Carrick-on-Suir
087 2129032


