The innovations of 10 TCD and UCD spin-outs will be showcased at the Science Gallery this Thursday, with the firms aiming to employ up to 150 more people between them within three years.
The event, aimed at a general public audience, is entitled TCD-UCD Innovation Alliance – Entrepreneurial Universities Showcasing the Impact of Research. It will take place in the Science Gallery, Pearse Street, Dublin this Thursday, 18 November, from 12pm to 6pm and admission is free.
Product/service demonstrations and presentations will occur as part of the event, which will involve 10 high-tech and innovative companies that have emerged from TCD and UCD to commercialise their research outputs. In all, the 10 spin-out companies (five from each university) currently employ 100 staff and plan to increase this number to 250 within the next two to three years.
Speaking in advance of the event, Dr David Lloyd, dean of Research, TCD, said: “This event showcases the role of the universities in the transfer of knowledge to practice. Both UCD and TCD run very successful entrepreneurship training programmes and provide incubation facilities for their spin-outs. We hope to see acceleration in the quantity and quality of new high potential start-ups created by our two universities.”
Professor Des Fitzgerald, vice-president for Research, UCD, added: “The development of high-tech companies, such as those taking part in this TCD-UCD Innovation Alliance event, is of critical importance, especially in the current economic environment, as they are generating significant opportunities for the creation of highly-skilled jobs.”
View of the digitisation of historical records by Eneclann
Among the TCD companies participating is IdentiGEN, a provider of DNA-based solutions to the agri-food industry, and Eneclann, which offers Irish history and heritage services through historical research, digitisation and publications and archives and records management.
Two of the UCD companies participating are BiancaMed and HeyStaks Technologies. The medical technology company BiancaMed, sells a non-contact device for the monitoring of sleep and breathing in the home. HeyStaks Technologies, a social web-search company, has recently secured €1m in equity funding from the Ulster Bank Diageo Ventures Fund to develop its product offering, expand existing operations and to open an office in San Francisco.
Other participating companies
Bioplastech
Bioplastech produces biodegradable polymers with novel uses in the biomedical and bulk plastic industries.
Cellix
Cellix has developed a microfluidics drug screening tool currently being used by over a third of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Celtic Catalysts
Celtic Catalysts is a supplier of chiral products and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical, fine chemical and biotechnology industries.
Miravex
Miravex specialises in the areas of optics and image analysis for the cosmetic investigation of skin conditions.
OncoMark
OncoMark, a life science company, is concentrating on the discovery and development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics that help to save lives and improve the quality of life of cancer patients.
Sonitus Systems
Sonitus Systems designs and installs sophisticated noise monitoring systems for assessing the impact of environmental noise.
For further event details click here.
