Alastair Blair, Country Managing Director, Accenture Ireland shares what he thinks makes a Leader of Tomorrow.
When you pause and reflect, it’s incredible to think that our Leaders of Tomorrow competition is now in its eleventh year.
When we created the programme back in 2008, our goal was to identify talent for Accenture from third level institutions and this programme served us well in doing that. We also gave back by recognising and developing their leadership potential as well as nurturing and developing innovative ideas into potential businesses.
Flash forward to 2018. Ireland is a very different place, and we’ve moved the competition with the times. Entrepreneurial spirit is stronger than ever and I am proud that Leaders of Tomorrow has established itself as a leading platform for student start-ups and entrepreneurship. This generation leave the programme as alumni feeling energised and equipped to support the next generations of leaders.
This year, we are taking a new approach and looking for students who may not even have a start-up in the making. We want to support those with an entrepreneurial mind right from the very start.
Similar to the way we structured our various disciplines at The Dock – Accenture’s multidisciplinary research and incubation hub in Dublin – we will team up applicants with other talented individuals to develop a ‘big idea’.
A shortlist of finalists make it through to our Entrepreneur Academy, to be developed further, before the finalists showcase their ideas to business leaders, academics and members of the start-up community where the winner is chosen.
The competition doesn’t require an idea to apply – we want to hear from applicants with a big imagination, who can challenge the norm and synergise with other talented students in business, engineering, design and technology. In true Accenture style, we believe that by bringing together great minds of all backgrounds, innovation can be at its best.
Since Leaders of Tomorrow launched, it has gone from 30 applicants in 2008 to a record 240 last year. In 2017, following a dedicated female entrepreneur programme, 48% of applicants were women, increasing from 10% three years ago, something of which I am very proud that Accenture has helped to achieve.
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