Indigenous 
Submitted by Craig Ervine, Professor, International Business Management
During their visit to Ireland (October 20 - November 2, 2024) students in the Entrepreneurial Thinking in a Global Context course had a unique opportunity to work with Stephen Ryan-Doyle, the founder and CEO of the Irish charitable organization; 'Let's Fund It'.
The students met with Mr. Ryan-Doyle in the boardroom of our partner institution, the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and heard a presentation about his organization and some of the challenges that have emerged due to the rapid interest and growth in the services his charity provides.
Our students were invited by Mr. Ryan-Doyle, along with course leads, Dr. Craig Ervine (SLC) and Marion Carroll (TUS) to reflect on the growth and sustainability challenges described during his presentation and offer their thoughts and ideas to confront the situation. Throughout the afternoon, students met with Stephen Ryan-Doyle to offer their perspectives and recommendations on how he and his board of directors might approach some of the issues that they are facing.
This experience provided students access to and participation in opportunity and problem analysis and allowed them to apply entrepreneurial thinking to a real-world organizational challenge within an international and intercultural context.
The students embraced the consultation session with energy and enthusiasm and Mr. Ryan-Doyle was very impressed with the quality of the ideas the student offered, remarking; "Just a quick message to thank you and your students for today. Very engaging group that have a very bright future. I really appreciate their feedback and look forward to sharing it with our trustees."