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The Carlow entrepreneur is creating 50 jobs in a new HQ after seven years.
ENTREPRENEURS
Clare McCollum
DipStick
Clare McCollum from Portstewart, Co Antrim was the overall winner of the ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ awards for 2010, impressing judges with her ‘DipStick’ project.
The Business and Marketing student from University of Ulster created this drinks stirrer to detect alien substances in consumable beverages and alert consumers to potential dangers of drug-related sexual assault.
As the overall winner, McCollum will now participate in the Accenture ‘Global Leadership Experience’, which is a two-part prize involving a trip to New York this summer and a leadership development internship at Accenture Ireland.
An overwhelming response to Leaders of Tomorrow
“Now in its third year, the programme has become more relevant than we ever predicted given Ireland’s turn in economic fortunes. It is not surprising that we received an overwhelming response from Ireland’s third-level institutions and we believe interest in our programme is growing because it gives graduates hands-on experience in developing the tools and skills necessary for a life in business,” said Mark Ryan, country managing director for Accenture in Ireland.
The Accenture ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ Award, open to third-level graduates across the island of Ireland, seeks out innovative and entrepreneurial young talent in order to foster Ireland’s next generation of leaders who will ultimately shape the public, private and social landscape of this country in coming years.
There were several hundred applications to this year’s awards, representing all the main universities across the island of Ireland. Many innovative business ideas were submitted in areas such as technology, green business and public policy and the five finalists were required to present their projects to the adjudication panel.
Photo: Clare McCollum and Mark Ryan
