Two students from NUI Galway's J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics have beaten over 1,700 other candidates to make it to the final seven of Meteor's Apprentice competition. Meteor Mobile Communications is running the competition to mark their sponsorship of the award winning TV series, The Apprentice. The winner will serve an apprenticeship in the marketing department at Meteor next summer. Battling it out for the prize will be 21 year old Emma Curtis, a final Commerce student specialising in Spanish and Marketing. Emma, originally from Kinsale, Co. Cork, hopes to work in an International Corporate Events Company. Also in the final is 22 year old, Galway city native Senan Cronin. Senan is in his final year in Business Information Systems at the University. While the 12 candidates battle it out in the boardroom under self made millionaire and taskmaster Bill Cullen on the TV3 hit The Apprentice, candidates in the Meteor apprenticeship role will have to answer to Meteor s Head of Product Marketing, Bill Blake. Commenting on the search, Bill Blake, Meteor s Head of Product Marketing, said: "We're looking forward to seeing what the Meteor Apprentices are made of. There's a great opportunity here for the successful candidate who will spend next summer working within the marketing department. This extensive role will allow the winner to get a feel of the varying functions within marketing, from devising offers and choosing mobile phone ranges to retention and the exciting world of advertising. For the candidate s final week with Meteor, they get to choose which area they really want to focus on". Expressing her delight at Emma and Senan's success, Dr Emer Mulligan, Head of J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, NUI Galway, said: "At the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics we are continuously challenging our students to achieve their potential. We are delighted that Emma and Senan will have an opportunity to showcase their skills to a worldwide audience". Each week the candidates will be given a specific task to complete and can be tracked and voted for by the public on the www.apprenticeunseen.ie. -Ends-