Dundalk IT MBS in Entrepreneurship and Marketing celebrates 21 years

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) recently hosted an event celebrating 21 years of its award-winning Masters in Entrepreneurship and Marketing Programme.

Originally introduced in 2002 and led by Professor Colette Henry, the programme was developed as a result of Professor Colette Henry’s PhD in Entrepreneurship Education.

The first Cohort of 8 students graduated in Oct 2003. Since then, the programme has graduated almost 400 students. This course won an Irish Education Award in 2023, collecting the Best International Collaboration Award. This marked the fourth award for this course since 2018, showcasing the programme's continued success and impact.

The celebratory event was attended by DkIT President Dr Diarmuid O’Callaghan, Dr Patricia Moriarty Head of School of Business and Humanities along with the School’s Head of Departments Dr Brian Boyd, Dr Annaleigh Margey, Dr Kevin Burns and Shane Hill and the course’s Programme Directors Dr Maeve McArdle and Colin Cooney. DkIT also welcomed current and past MBS lecturers and supervisors, current MBS students and past MBS graduates.

The event was opened by Dr Patricia Moriarty who was followed by an address by Dr Brian Boyd Head of Department of Business Studies.

The attendees were treated to an expert panel discussion which was hosted by Aidan Browne who is Head of the Regional Development Centre (RDC) in DkIT and is also a graduate of the MBS.

The panel consisted of a group of alumni who spoke about their experience of the course and what the MBS meant to them and their careers. This group consisted of Lavina McGahon, project lead on the RDC’s award winning programme Thrive for Women, Amanda Kearns who is currently pursuing a PhD in Ulster University in the area of Disordered Eating and Mental Health and Niall McCreanor, Director of Sales and Marketing in Zetta. Niall is also a Social Democrats Local Election Candidate for Ardee in the upcoming local elections.

Dr Brian Boyd said of the event: “The MBS birthday party was a really special occasion. It was great to see so many past graduates (and lecturers) attending the event and hear how they are doing today.

"Their enthusiasm for the programme still remains undimmed after all these years, which is a testament to the vision of the original programme development team led by Colette Henry and to the programme itself which still remains extremely relevant for our current students”.