KEGC of Colaiste na Toirbhirte win the ODM Dragons Cave title for 2011 with an inspiring presentation.
Two in a row for Colaiste na Toirbhirte
ODM Dragons Cave 2011 reached a climax on the night of Tuesday 29th March at Bandon’s GAA Pavilion. The final was presented in front a capacity crowd of over 400 people.The atmosphere was electric.MC for the night Paudie Palmer started proceedings and kept the large attendance entertained throughout. The transition year students displayed all the vibrant characteristics of confidence, enthusiasm, energy and a can do attitude in their very professional presentations. This year saw the transition year students develop a variety of innovative high tech solutions.
7 great teams, 7 great ideas
Tracer from Hamilton High School started proceedings with a working prototype of a tracking device using GPS and phone application software, a solution that will ensure items of value are never lost again. Technonet Ltd from St Brogan’s College saw a gap in the market for 24 hour wi-fi and internet connection in public places with facilities for printing boarding passes and event tickets, a roll-out of 8 ‘hubs’ to start with 8 towns in West Cork. Next up was E-links from Bandon Grammar School with their ‘No strings attached’ wireless earphones for your i-pod, mobile or mp3 players. There was a first in Ireland web-site for teenagers by teenagers including detailed county by county event guides presented by I-Sparkle from Colaiste na Toirbhirte; Banana Tache from Hamilton High School presented some working apps for I-phones and other smart phones and explained their business model of creating promotional phone applications for Irish businesses. The last idea of the evening was excellently presented by Tekfreaks from Bandon Grammar School; their ‘I am loser’ phone application solved the problems of lost items using Bluetooth and phone technology. The presentations were of a very high professional standard and all the students can be very proud of their efforts, they are a credit to their teachers and respective schools. The transition year students sent a very clear message to everyone present, we have the ideas, we have the technology, and we have the ability. Their presentations highlighted to everyone in attendance that the future is very bright with the calibre of students coming through our local schools.
“ODM are delighted to be running and actively involved in this project. ‘ODM Dragons Cave’ harnesses the participating students’ innovative talents and gives them the practical experience of what is involved in starting a new business. It is hoped that this will encourage them to participate actively in and contribute to the local and national economy in the future. The second year of the competition has been another overwhelming success.” – Kieran Hurley ODM Financial.
Very generous prizes were provided by ODM Financial and ODM Accountants and these were next on the agenda. €4,000 of cash prizes were on offer and the anticipation was palpable. The first and second placed teams in each school final received €500 and €250 respectively, all of the 7 finalists went home happy.
The attention then switched to the overall winners of ODM Dragons Cave 2011. The Grand Prize included €1,000 worth of computer equipment for the school of the winning team, the ODM Dragons Cave Perpetual trophy and finally the title of ‘ODM Young Dragons 2011’.
On a night of such very high standard of presentations there was very little between the teams. When all of the marks were totalled up Hamilton High School teams Banana Tache and Tracer came in a very close second and third respectively pushing the winners very close indeed.
KEGC - ODM YOUNG DRAGONS 2011
However a very smooth presentation by K.E.G.C. ensured that Colaiste na Toirbhirte won the ODM Dragons Cave title for the second year in a row.
The winning team ‘K.E.G.C.’ presented an eco-friendly and health conscious idea in relation to a charger that is charged kinetically. The appliance was innovative on a number of fronts, the more exercise you do the more energy your kinetic charger produces. This energy is then used to charge your electronic devices helping the environment through reduced electricity requirements. Their marketing strapline ‘Be fit, be active, be charged’ struck the right note for the judges and Colaiste na Toirbhirte retained their title by the narrowest of margins. The team comprised of Lisa Cadogan, Phil Healy, Alanna Buckley, Marie Collins, Valerie Buckley, Stacy O'Sullivan and Melissa Buttimer and they were very worthy winners of the ODM Dragons Cave 2011 competition.