“Dragon” Duffy Kicks Off Brown Bag Lunch Series for CIT and UCC

“Dragon” Duffy Kicks Off Brown Bag Lunch Series for CIT and UCC

20 November 2012

Gavin Duffy officially kicked off CIT and UCC's "Brown Bag Lunch Series" for entrepreneurs at the INBusiness INCork showcase, held in City Hall, Cork on November 14th. 

The collaboration between Cork's two largest Third Level institutions sees the hosting of a series of lunchtime workshops which will give students, staff and the general public an insight into entrepreneurship and will highlight enterprise start-up as a viable option to students after graduation.

The series of ten one-hour events will rotate between each campus, with students and staff from both institutions invited to attend each session. Each of the workshops will be facilitated by successful entrepreneurs and academic lecturers in entrepreneurship.

The informal nature of having a workshop and a light lunch will ensure there is an opportunity for participants to ask questions and explore opportunities for starting their own business. The first workshop saw Dragons' Den star, Gavin Duffy, share his own entrepreneurial journey with 100 students from both CIT and UCC. The interactive workshop allowed the group to ask questions helping them understand their own entrepreneurial mind-set and potential.

Over the next nine sessions, the "Brown Bag Lunch Series" will cover topics such as Creating a Job for Life; Being the Entrepreneur; Future Trends; Spotting the Opportunity; Undertaking Market Research, Getting Started; Accessing Feasibility; Building the Team, The Importance of Networks; Attracting Finance; Branding and Marketing, Developing a Business Plan; Hitting the Growth Wall, Harvest and Exit Strategies.

Gerard O'Donovan, Head of School of Business at CIT said "This series offers a great opportunity for participants to learn about entrepreneurship from experienced entrepreneurs, which might help them to identify business opportunities and embrace their inner entrepreneurial spirit."

Dr. Lawrence Dooley at UCC said "This innovative programme allows interested students from disciplines which traditionally would have little business content to access entrepreneurial training and enhance their ability to undertake successful start-up ventures."

Attendance is FREE and everyone who attends the "Brown Bag Lunch Series" will receive a free lunch, as well as gaining insights into the entrepreneurial programmes offered in CIT such as New Frontiers and PINC, and the IGNITE programme in UCC.

For more details on the "Brown Bag Lunch Series" including dates, times and locations contact Dr. Lawrence Dooley at l.dooley@ucc.ie.