Knowledge Transfer Ireland Impact Awards celebrate innovation

Over 170 people from technology transfer offices, academia, industry as well as investors and the wider business community logged on to hear the outcome and celebrate the much anticipated Knowledge Transfer Ireland Impact Awards which were being presented virtually for outstanding research that has been commercialised and outstanding engagement between companies and Research Performing Organisation’s (RPOs), who have worked together to transfer knowledge into real impact and benefit to the economy and society.

The winning entries from universities and institutes of technology around the country were recognised for their achievements.

Knowledge Transfer Ireland Impact Awards: Triumphant despite  lockdown

The awards were across three categories: Commercialisation Impact, Industry Engagement and a new category for 2020 heralding achievements in COVID-19 response and the pivotal role played Ireland’s technology transfer offices is bringing these to fruition:-

University College Cork & Precision Biotics scooped the Commercialisation Impact Award, for the success achieved by a spin-out company from the university.

Formed almost two decades ago from UCC to develop probiotics for human and animal health, Precision Biotics has built sustained value with a range of healthcare products brought to market.

This year it was acquired by Danish biotech multinational Novozymes in a deal worth more than €80 million that looks set to protect high-value jobs in Cork and further strengthen collaborative links between the company and UCC.

Trinity College Dublin & Intel Ireland secured the Industry Engagement Award, for an enduring research partnership that has delivered value to the company and the university including employment opportunities for Trinity graduates and profiling ground-breaking academic research from the university.

In 2020 agreement was reached which will see the two organisations working together for another six-year period as part of the multi-university SFI Amber Centre which is hosted by Trinity.

Finally, NUI Galway won the COVID-19 Response Award, for the development of Familylink, a project that connects patients, families, and the clinical teams providing care in the constraints of the ICU setting.

The TTO supported an open access strategy for the technology, which places it in the public domain which has made ICU Familylink accessible for other hospitals to use during the pandemic.

Full details on the above entries are included here.

The Annual Impact Awards recognise significant achievements in knowledge transfer and the commercialisation of research carried out in Irish higher education institutions and research performing organisations (RPOs) nationwide.

In particular, they pay tribute to the work of those within Ireland’s Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) around the country who provide a vital link between industry and academic research.

Commenting Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, Leo Varadkar said “The results from our knowledge transfer system are encouraging.

The KTI Impact Awards highlight some of the more recent successes and the entries demonstrate that there are opportunities for Irish SMEs, multinationals, and start-up companies to see real benefits from working with Irish universities and institutes.

The shortlist for today’s 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.”

Commenting, KTI Director and Chair of the Judging Panel Dr. Alison Campbell said, “Today is very much about recognising some of the significant achievements across the Irish knowledge transfer system.

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.

It’s a delight to be able to bring the work of the Technology Transfer Offices in the universities and IoTs to the fore and to recognise the value of the Enterprise Ireland Technology Transfer Strengthening programme that helps support these offices.”

The shortlisted entries were evaluated by a panel of international experts that included:

Rich Chylla, Executive Director of MSU Technologies, Michigan State University, USA and immediate Past-Chair AUTM, the global technology transfer association, based in the USA; Brendan Hogan, Senior Vice President of Engineering & Operations at Aerogen Ltd. Ireland; Laura McDonald, CEO at the pan-European association of knowledge transfer professionals, ASTP, Netherlands; Richie Paul, VP & Head of Intellectual Property at Alkermes Pharma Ireland Limited; Santiago Romo Urroz, International Relations Advisor, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain, and ASTP Board member; and Jennie Shorley, Head of Engaged Scholarship, Faculty of Business & Law, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and Board member of PraxisAuril, the UK’s national knowledge transfer association.

KTI is the national office that makes it simpler for businesses and research performing organisations to work together, maximising the extent to which State-funded technology, ideas, and expertise get into the hands of businesses to drive innovation, economic growth, and job creation.

KTI has recently published its Annual Review for 2019, which shows that as of the end of 2019 there were over 2,000 live research collaborations between industry and State research bodies – an increase of 19% from 2018.

There are 123 active spin-outs in operation for 3 years or more that directly employ more than 1,000 people around the country.

More about Irish Tech News and Business Showcase here.
FYI the ROI for you is => Irish Tech News now gets over 1.5 million monthly views, and up to 900k monthly unique visitors, from over 160 countries. We have over 860,000 relevant followers on Twitter on our various accounts & were recently described as Ireland’s leading online tech news site and Ireland’s answer to TechCrunch, so we can offer you a good audience!

Since introducing desktop notifications a short time ago, which notify readers directly in their browser of new articles being published, over 50,000 people have now signed up to receive them ensuring they are instantly kept up to date on all our latest content. Desktop notifications offer a unique method of serving content directly to verified readers and bypass the issue of content getting lost in people’s crowded news feeds.

Drop us a line if you want to be featured, guest post, suggest a possible interview or just let us know what you would like to see more of in our future articles. We’re always open to new and interesting suggestions for informative and different articles.

Contact us, by email, twitter or whatever social media works for you and hopefully, we can share your story too and reach our global audience. We are agile, responsive, quick and talented, we look forward to working with you!

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at [email protected] or on Twitter: @SimonCocking