Three Clare schools have taken part in the final of the 18th ‘AIB Build A Bank Challenge’, one of the longest running schools programmes for Transition and 5th Year students across Ireland.
Over 70 schools from across Ireland took part in the virtual final which was held through video conferencing, with each team presenting their project to a panel of judges.
The Clare schools to participate were Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon, St. Anne’s Community College and St. John Bosco Community College.
St. Mary’s Secondary School, Mallow, Cork were awarded the title of National Champions 2020 as well as €5,000 for their school.
The AIB Build a Bank Challenge is a year-long programme for Transition and 5th Year students, giving them the opportunity to set up and run an operational bank within their school while exploring innovation, creativity and business management. The programme also encourages students to give back to their school and community, with participating teams engaging with their local communities and a variety of charities.
Normally, the year-long programme culminates at a National Final in Dublin where students present their projects to the judging panel before the winners are announced at a prize giving ceremony. Due to current Covid-19 restrictions this was not possible this year, so AIB transformed the physical event into a web-based experience, allowing the students to present their Build A Bank projects through video conferencing.
Mark Doyle, Chief Marketing Officer, AIB said, “Since the AIB Build A Bank Challenge was introduced in 2002, it has continued to steadily grow and evolve as a programme which engages with thousands of students across Ireland. We are of course disappointed that we couldn’t host the annual final in Dublin this year. However, we were delighted to progress with digital presentations and judging, and still recognise the incredible amount of work that has gone in to each project. Every year we are amazed by the creativity and hard work demonstrated by all the students, and this year has been no exception”.
The AIB Build A Bank Challenge runs throughout the full curriculum year and enables its participants to develop business management tools, using their creativity and innovation in establishing their bank. An extremely popular programme with both teachers and students, over 18,000 students have taken part in the AIB Build A Bank Challenge since it started in 2002.
For more details, please visit www.aib.ie/build-a-bank