Irish universities and corporations have been recognised for his or her work at this 12 months’s Information Switch Eire Affect Awards.
This 12 months’s Information Switch Eire (KTI) Affect Awards, held just about on account of Covid-19, noticed greater than 170 individuals from expertise switch workplaces, academia and business tune in, together with buyers and the broader enterprise neighborhood. The awards purpose to honour excellent analysis that has been commercialised and has led to sturdy engagement between corporations and research-performing organisations.
The awards have been throughout three classes: commercialisation influence, business engagement, and a brand new class for 2020 created in response to Covid-19 for efforts made by information switch workplaces to assist sort out the illness.
College Faculty Cork (UCC) and healthcare product developer PrecisionBiotics have been named winners of the Commercialisation Affect Award. PrecisionBiotics – a UCC spin-out – was based nearly 20 years in the past to develop probiotics for human and animal well being.
This 12 months, it was acquired by Danish biotech multinational Novozymes in a deal worth greater than €80m, and KTI expects that the deal will strengthen collaborative hyperlinks between the corporate and UCC.
Trinity Faculty Dublin (TCD) and Intel Eire have been named winners of the Business Engagement Award for his or her ongoing analysis partnership. Earlier this 12 months, an settlement was reached which can see the 2 organisations working collectively for one more six-year interval as a part of the multi-university SFI AMBER centre, hosted by TCD.
Lastly, NUI Galway was named winner of the brand new Covid-19 Response Award for the event of Familylink, a challenge that connects sufferers, households and the scientific groups offering care within the constraints of the ICU setting. By assist of a expertise switch workplace, Familylink has been made accessible for hospitals within the public area in the course of the pandemic.
‘Real examples of the compelling work’
Commenting on the awards, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Commerce and Employment Leo Varadkar, TD, stated: “The KTI Affect Awards spotlight a number of the more moderen successes and the entries display that there are alternatives for Irish SMEs, multinationals and start-up corporations to see actual advantages from working with Irish universities and institutes.
“The shortlist for [these] awards is impressive and I commend the hard work and focus of all who have been involved in each of the projects – the researchers, companies, investors, entrepreneurs and, of course, the teams in the technology transfer offices.”
KTI director and chair of the judging panel, Dr Alison Campbell, added: “The finalists and winners of these awards are real examples of the compelling work being undertaken in the third level to support innovation and to help Irish companies thrive in challenging markets, delivering benefit to the economy and for people.”
