INNOVATION
Engaging with companies to help them with research and development (R&D) is a core activity of the institutes of tech- nology (ITs) in Ireland. For instance, a company that needs help with applied research solutions, proof of concepts, technology transfer, feasibility studies or prototype development can avail of a wide variety of services from the IT in their region. Orna Duggan, senior executive, research, Institutes of Tech-
nology Ireland (IOTI), says it’s a legislative responsibility of the ITs to support strong regional economies. “Tat automatically implies that engagement with compa-
nies and relevance with companies is an important part of what we do. We have a spectrum of activity that includes everything from classical R&D through to industry-focused innovation products – having equipment and expertise that’s highly rel- evant to companies. Finally, the end of that spectrum would be around entrepreneurship and innovation and supporting the commercialisation of new ideas and research,” she explains. Each of the 13 ITs on the island engages with firms to help them with research and innovation projects.
TAILORED APPROACH FOR FIRMS
Duggan says it’s important to realise, however, that the ITs tailor their assistance to suit the individual needs of firms. “Companies define the approach, coming to us with a par-
ticular issue. We would help them work through it and to def- ine it into a concept and decide the best approach to take – so it’s a two-way process. “In terms of the timeline of the research, we are very open
to more short-term, responsive projects, moving away from the classical approach to R&D. Te focus is on delivering very commercialisable outputs, so it’s results-focused.”
ACCESSING EXPERTISE
She says the first step for companies is to have a conversation with their local institute. “Each institute has a dedicated member of the management
team, the external services manager or industry liaison man- ager, whose role is to connect the company with the expertise they need. “Tey would primarily do that in their own institute, but for
a company that makes an approach the expertise of all of the institutes would be made available to them.”
REGIONAL STRENGTHS
Each institute has its specific services and research/innovation strengths to complement the region it is based in. “Take Galway-Mayo IT as an example. It’s located in a reg-
ion where medical devices are very important, so a lot of the research within the institute is focused on medical device tech- nology. Te college has built up interactions with both small companies and multinationals in the region. “Biomedical and life-sciences research would also be very
important in Cork IT (CIT) and they have aligned with the pharmaceutical sectors down there. “At Waterford IT (WIT) telecommunications would be a
major area. Also, they have research groups that are focused on pharmaceutical industry and responsiveness.”
REAP PROJECT Te Roadmap for Employment-Academic Partnership, or
REAP, project, which is being led out of CIT and WIT, is another initiative that is aiming to respond to the needs of companies, explains Duggan. “Part of what we try to do is improve our responsiveness –
the number of companies we connect with. We’re recognising that there’s a place for a research agenda that’s very responsive to companies. Tis means short-term research projects that deliver very commercialisable results in the kind of timeframe and budgets that companies are dealing with,” she says. “We aim to deliver projects that are tailored to a company’s
needs and budget – that would be delivered over anything from various short-term small feasibility studies through to more longer-term projects.”
INNOVATION VOUCHERS
Enterprise Ireland (EI) also runs its Innovation Vouchers scheme in liaison with the institutes. Via this scheme com- panies can get a €5,000 voucher and use it for small projects such as a feasibility study or the scoping out of a project. “EI provides the funding and the institutes provide the exp- ertise and the equipment. Innovation Vouchers are recognised
GREENFARM ENERGY (IRELAND)
Set up in 2004, the Co Tyrone-based GreenFarm Energy (Ireland) operates in the area of extracting energy from farm waste. It is achieving this through the anaerobic digestion process to produce methane gas, which can be used as a fuel to generate electricity. In 2005, with EU funding, GreenFarm Energy (Ire- land) collaborated with South West College in Omagh to come up with new technology solutions for energy extrac- tion on small farms. Te work resulted in specifications for a pre-treatment system that would be integrated with an anaerobic digester. Subsequently, the Centre for Sustainability at the Insti-
tute of Technology, Sligo (IT Sligo) became involved as a collaborative partner. Two lab-scale bio-reactors were commissioned at IT
Sligo and they helped investigate the energy potential of farm waste. As a result of this cross-border collaboration, Green-
Farm Energy (Ireland) is now specialising in anaerobic digestion. It has developed and tested a prototype, with the construction of a full-scale system in progress. Explains Gary Hawkes, director, GreenFarm Energy
(Ireland): “Te development of the collaborative research project has resulted in our company gaining a significant technical advantage within the marketplace for energy from waste systems. Te assistance provided has assisted us in the planning, development, testing and construction of our demonstration energy from waste facility.” According to Institutes of Technology Ireland, Green-
Farm Energy will be the first on-farm energy-from-waste unit in Northern Ireland.
VOL 4 ISSUE 1 2011 OWNER MANAGER 29
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