The 24 finalists in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year recently attended a series of workshops at the prestigious Harvard Business School in the US.

The group attended lectures given by 3Com and Aspen Technology founder Mr Ken Morse, and Mr Joe Lassiter, who has been involved in the start up of Bluefin Robotics.

Three agencies, Enterprise Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland and InterTrade Ireland, supported the three-day trip.

According to Mr Pat Maher of Enterprise Ireland, the aim of the workshop was to get insights into creating and sustaining competitive advantage.

"All our research shows that strong management is the key ingredient in growing a successful business," Mr Maher said.

"The Harvard workshop made a significant contribution to building the management skills of these entrepreneurs."

A judging panel chose the finalists for the competition in May. There are eight companies in three categories, emerging (for new companies), industrial and international. Last year's winner, Mr Liam Shanahan of Shanahan Engineering, came from the last category.

The three category winners and the overall winner will be announced next month. The Irish Times and RTÉ are media partners to the competition.

Mr Liam Nellis of InterTrade Ireland said that both Mr Morse and Mr Lassiter were exceptional. "Ken Morse is a serial entrepreneur, five of which were successfully floated or merged," he said. "Joe Lassiter was and is active in start-ups as well, including Bluefin Robotics."

Ms Terri Scott of Invest Northern Ireland said that successful entrepreneurs have the skill to identify talent and build strong teams. "In the seminars and workshops there was a strong focus on developing the skills of the management team," she said.