As many as 1,300 jobs have been created and some €47.7m is contributed annually to the local and international economy by NovaUCD companies, the incubator said in its economy impact statement. It is now planning to generate an additional 1,200 new jobs in the local and international economy by 2016.
The report, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of the opening of NovaUCD, indicates that €87.7m will be contributed annually to the Irish and international economy by 2016.
The new report highlights that NovaUCD’s start-up and commercialisation activities, over the past decade, currently support a total of 1,341 jobs (direct and indirect) worldwide, of which 1,056 are based in Ireland. In addition, NovaUCD’s activities support an annual contribution of €47.7 million Gross Value Added (GVA) to the worldwide economy, of which €36.6 million GVA is contributed to the Irish economy.
The report concludes that by 2016 entrepreneurial and commercialisation activities at NovaUCD will be supporting a total of 2,527 jobs (direct and indirect), of which 1,934 will be in Ireland, and will be contributing an annual economic impact of €87.7m GVA worldwide, of which €66.1 million GVA will be contributed to the Irish economy.
Since 2003, UCD has supported 126 companies through its incubation services at NovaUCD and 30 new UCD spin-out companies have been incorporated during the last 10 years.
In 2013 the combined annual turnover of the companies supported at NovaUCD, which have raised €91m in equity funding to date, amounted to €71.m and they collectively employ 599 people directly, 489 of whom are based in Ireland. These companies expect to create 851 new jobs over the next 3-years, 630 of whom will be based in Ireland.
During the last 10-years the income generated from UCD’s commercialisation activities at NovaUCD amounted to €5.2m. Since 2003 445 inventions have been disclosed by UCD researchers to UCD’s technology transfer team and 318 patent applications have been filed by UCD.
A total of 81 licensing deals have been concluded with a range of indigenous and international businesses. As a direct result of entering into licensing agreements with UCD, businesses have been able to increase their turnover in Ireland by an average of €3.6m annually and internationally by €5.8m.
Over 45 innovative new ventures are currently based at NovaUCD. Many of these are spin-out companies, such as Equinome, HeyStaks and Oncomark, which are commercialising research specifically undertaken at UCD. The remaining are spin-in companies, such as Biosensia, Enbio and Tethras, which located to NovaUCD in order to interact more closely with the University.
“They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a small step; at NovaUCD we support and develop high-tech and knowledge-intensive companies at the start-up phase of development in a world-class incubation facility,” said Peter Clinch, UCD vice president for Innovation.
“At NovaUCD we provide comprehensive support programmes and a peer-support system that has nurtured an enthusiastic and dynamic community of talented entrepreneurs and companies which have gone on to achieve considerable success on the global stage.”
Clinch added, “The impact of NovaUCD has been far greater than could have been imagined 10 years ago when it officially opened and I have no doubt that an exciting future lies ahead for NovaUCD.”
Research prioritisation
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said that the Government is going to make changes that will enable a greater economic impact from scientific research in Ireland.
“A key part of the Government’s plan for jobs and growth is ensuring that we derive more benefit, in terms of commercial outcomes and jobs, from the State’s investment in science and technology – turning good ideas into good jobs. To deliver this we are making a series of changes, including the research prioritisation exercise and the establishment of a central technology transfer office to act as a “one stop shop” for the commercialisation of research. Today’s report showing that over 1300 jobs have been created as a result of NovaUCD’s activities, illustrates clearly what can be achieved in this area. I commend them on all their work and wish them every success for the future.”
