Entrepreneurs to attend student summit in Dublin Castle

The nation's brightest young entrepreneurial minds are flocking to Dublin Castle tonight for the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Student Summit 2014.

Over 35 business start-ups from around the country will be passing on information to a sell-out attendance of 600 students in an event which is the first of its kind in Ireland.

The aim of the summit is to try and kindle a sense of community among young entrepreneurs, and to give them the opportunity to pick the brains of people who have been successful in their field.

Joe Connor, president of USI, said: "The inspiration for the summit came from speaking to a host of young entrepreneurs who felt the current infrastructure in place for them wasn't good enough.

“The feeling was there is a great need for something like this, it will enable people to network easily and the value of that can’t be underestimated.”

Already the event has proved hugely popular, Mr O’Connor said: “This has never been done before, it’s an area which simply isn’t catered for.

“We sold out the venue’s 600 capacity in no time, and could have sold a lot more tickets if we were allowed.”

Among the companies present at the summit are LinkedIn, Storyful and Enterprise Ireland, and the main focus of the event is for entrepreneurs to learn from these business success stories.

Mr O’Connor said: “Originally, we were going to give students the opportunity to pitch their business ideas at the summit, but the demand was so great we have decided to hold a separate showcase.

“The event provides an incredible opportunity for Irish student entrepreneurs to hear from inspirational speakers and learn from Ireland’s most innovative start-up companies.”

It is hoped the summit could provide a blueprint for the way in which young entrepreneurs network in the future; Mr O’Connor said: “If all goes well, there is the potential for this to become an annual event.

“It could well set up a new framework for how entrepreneurs establish themselves and how businesses recruit.”

The summit begins at 4.30pm at the Printworks building, Dublin Castle.