Dr Rowland is one of 24 people short listed for this prestigious award, out of 115 entries. Nominees were interviewed by Ernst & Young, followed by rigorous assessment by a 12-person panel of judges, chaired by Denis O’Brien, previous recipient of the award.

The winner will go forward to represent Ireland in the World Entrepreneur of the Year competition where winners from 40 countries will compete for the world title.

Sean Rowland qualified as a primary teacher at St Patrick's College Drumcondra and taught at primary level for five years before going to the US to study at Boston College. There he was awarded a Masters in Educational Administration, and later a PhD in Curriculum Instruction and Administration. He also holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

While at Boston College, Dr. Rowland established the Centre for Irish Management. His goals in creating the centre were to encourage economic development and create employment in Ireland through education, executive development, and relationship building.

Dr. Rowland also established the Irish Institute at Boston College, and as Executive Director worked extensively with young Irish professionals, political leaders and educators to promote Irish/US relations, provide upskilling in a variety of professional areas, and contribute to job creation in Ireland.

In 2000, Dr. Rowland brought together his colleagues from the corporate, education and technological communities to create Hibernia College, Ireland’s first - and to date only - accredited online third level institution.

Hibernia College is best known in Ireland for its Higher Diploma in Primary Education. However, the college also has international courses in areas such as Pharmaceutical Medicine and Financial Management and has students in over 20 countries worldwide.

Under Dr. Rowland’s leadership, Hibernia has collaborated with

• Pfizer (the world’s largest research based pharmaceutical company) to develop a Masters programme in Pharmaceutical Medicine,
• NUI Maynooth to offer a Masters programme in Hospitality Management,
• Canterbury Christ Church University to develop an online training programme for secondary school teachers in England – a collaboration which puts Hibernia College in the unique position of providing teacher education in both Ireland and England.

Speaking of his nomination for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Dr Rowland said he was "excited and honoured" and that he looked forward to the "challenges and opportunities" it brought.

The award is part of a global recognition programme to identify, acclaim and support entrepreneurs. An immediate benefit to each of the finalists is an instant access channel to over 200 of Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs through strong networking opportunities provided by the programme.

The 24 finalists in the 2008 programme will be profiled in The Irish Times over a 6-week period in May and June. Each finalist will also feature in a three-part series to appear on RTE in October. The winner will be announced at a televised Awards Ceremony on 23 October, held at City West Hotel, Dublin.