JBC Education for Enterprise Forum 20 October 2011
On 20 October 2011, North south business leaders and senior Government officials met in IBM Ireland’s Technology Campus for the first JBC Education for Enterprise Forum. This event was organised by the Joint Business Council (JBC) -which links members of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The forum debated questions and issues relating to the future of enterprise education on the island of Ireland.
In her keynote address to the Forum, Anne Fitzsimons, Global Technology Services Director, IBM said "Much of the discussion about education today focuses on the importance of maths and science - and rightly so. However, another crucial issue is the extent to which our education system develops interest and skills in enterprise. Enterprise skills are central to entrepreneurship, and to making a commercial success of Ireland's investment in R&D. The Joint Business Council is to be commended for bringing attention to this important issue."
JBC Chief Executive Reg McCabe said “We are addressing the future of enterprise education at a critical juncture in the evolution of the economies North and South and in the context of a very challenging fiscal climate”.
“By addressing the role of the education sector in terms of developing enterprise skills and capacity we can provide the basis for a new approach to job creation – one that unleashes the creative potential of the next generation of home-grown entrepreneurial talent”
JBC is using the opportunity presented by the Forum to publish its new Enterprise Education policy report. The report reviews international best practice relating to the promotion and development of enterprise education and calls for a joint initiative by authorities on both sides of the border which would link educationalists and the business sector in tackling deficiencies with existing models for enterprise education.
Pictured at the JBC Education for Enterprise Forum on 20 Oct 2011 were Rory Caren, IBM; Tracy Meharg, Invest NI, Reg McCabe, Joint Business Council and Ian McMorris, Cregyhil Consulting
Conference presentations are available for download here
Tracy Meharg, MD of Innovation and Capability Development, Invest NI
Frank Hennessey, Head of Business Studies, St. Mary's University College Belfast
Frank Hennessey St Marys College Belfast
Caroline McHale, National Coordinator for Business and Enterprise, PDST
Prof David Gibson, Senior Teaching Fellow, Queen's University Belfast
Liisa Tenhunen Ruotsalainen, Director, Economic Information Office, Finland
Liisa Tenhunen Ruotsalainen Economic Information Office
- JBC Education for Enterprise Froum 20 Oct 2011
- JBC study of obstacles to cross-border undergraduate education May 2011
- Cross border schools' enterprise project
- North-South masters bursary scheme
- Measuring mobility in a changing island report 2010
- JBC policy paper on skills and education
