What do Patrick Collison, John Collison, and Terry Cavanagh have in common? They are all Irish-born entrepreneurs on Forbes’ “30 under 30” list. Named the “Celtic Tiger” in the 1990s and persevering through the 2000’s Great Recession, Ireland has been a hub for genius and entrepreneurship. For these reasons, University of Colorado – Denver Business School professor Jan Rutherford led a group of students to the Republic of Ireland for the Maymester course Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Ireland.
Spanning May 23 to June 6, the students attended leadership seminars and completed projects with five Irish start-ups: Sports Vantage, Abrivia, Groupnos, Billfaster, and Startup Ireland. On just the first day, the students received leadership counsel from Andrew Parish (IP Activation group), Professor Patrick Cunningham (University College of Dublin), Paul Byrne (Trintech), Peter Lennonx (Enterprise Ireland), and Kieran Daly (Biobusiness). While working on their startup projects, the class had opportunities to travel around Ireland to Dublin and Belfast, including the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, to learn key cultural insights about Ireland.
The class shared many wonderful memorable moments:
Irish flag outside prison used to hold leaders of rebellion during Irish War of Independence
Interior of prison used to hold rebellion leaders
A small group of students attended the Republic of Ireland v. Turkey football match – Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Some students were more excited than others to see Howth’s harbor
The first work day was spent learning about leadership from global business leaders
Group photo outside before heading in to hear about Ireland’s status as a world leader of innovation
The class ventured to the Iveagh House to learn about politics, international relations, trade, economics policy, science, technology, and even the arts
Start-up GoPrezzo revealed many struggles that most start-ups experience
Bryan Keating (CPI) introduced the students to several innovations to come out of Ireland
Group photo outside Science Center, where many artifacts from the Titanic construction are kept
As part of the tour of the center, the group caught a glimpse of the dock used to construct behemoth luxury ship The Titanic
During a tour of Belfast, the students spotted a street performer dancing with fire
Two students pose near the sheer cliffs of Northern Ireland
Hexagonal pillars are naturally made due to ancient volcanic eruptions
The students were able to see the castle known as Harrenhal from Game of Thrones!
“Quintessential Ireland,” a small group of students were excited to do a little site-seeing
The group working with Abrivia concluded their presentation with a group photo
