Women's Innovation Network at Dublin City University (WIN@DCU)
18 May 2009

Mary Finan and Lord Mayor, Councillor Eibhlin Byrne

On Tuesday 12 May, DCU Educational Trust Trustee, Mary Finan welcomed over 100 female business leaders and students to WIN@DCU, a bi-annual speaker series. The event took place in the Helix to offer a unique perspective on some of the challenges faced by successful women in business across all sectors.  The Lord Mayor, Councillor Eibhlin Byrne attended the opening reception and mingled amongst the guests before all assembled into the Gallery for the talks to begin.

WIN@DCU is part of the DCU strategic theme “Business and Innovation”, which invites powerful female business individuals to campus as role models for undergraduate students. This speaker series highlights the achievements of innovative women in business, science, communications and the humanities, while also providing a forum in which women can develop and foster professional and social contacts with others of diverse backgrounds and interests.

The evening commenced with two keynote speeches from Mary Finan, Founding Partner of Wilson Hartnell Public Relations who delivered a talk on crisis communications for public relations and marketing and also from Margaret Sweeney, Chief Executive of Postbank who addressed the role of gender equality in the workplace, as she discussed ‘It Takes Two Voices – Equality Across the Divides’.

Guests then broke off into two interactive discussion break-out sessions where Sarah Dempsey Head of Sponsorship & Corporate Social Responsibility at Ulster Bank Ireland, offered guests advice on redesigning their marketing plan for survival in the new economy.  The other session was led by DCU graduate Aoife O’Driscoll, Sales and Marketing Director for ElevEase, who gave her own personal insight into entrepreneurship with; ‘From an Acorn to a Tree – How to Grow that Small Business Idea’.  The two break-out session hosts were supported by Ann Horan, General Manager, Ryan Academy and Dr. Sarah Ingle, Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at DCU Business School.

Since its initiation, the WIN@DCU programme has proven to be a tremendous success in connecting women in business and in particular affording undergraduate students the opportunity to meet and gain invaluable advice from some of Ireland’s leading professional women.

The evening ended with a wine reception allowing all guests further opportunities to expand their business network, exchanging advice and connections with others who share their passion for success in a relaxed and positive atmosphere.

The cross-faculty WIN@DCU is sponsored by the DCU Educational Trust. For more information on how you may become involved or attend future events, please contact Orla Holmes, Director of Operations, DCU Educational Trust on (01) 700 8162 or email orla.holmes@dcu.ie