By Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, UCD Research and Innovation

Minister Retailleau takes part in round table discussion on the Irish innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem with students and entrepreneurs

Photo caption: Pictured (l-r) Jean-Michel Portefaix, Expert Technique International Innovation, Expertise France; Tom Flanagan, Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation; Dr Fiona McGillicuddy, UCD School of Medicine, and promoter of MetHealth, an emerging UCD spin-out; Peter Doyle, CEO & co-founder, Biosimulytics; Minister Retailleau; Minister Harris TD; Prof. Helen Roche, interim UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact; Xavier d’Argoeuves, Conseiller de Coopération et d’Action Culturelle, French Embassy in Ireland; Oisin Mallon, undergraduate student at the UCD Quinn School of Business, and the Mont Kavanagh Enterprise Internship Scholar at NovaUCD; Alan Barry, CEO and co-founder, Plasma Bound and Kevin Burke, National Director for Horizon Europe, Enterprise Ireland

The French Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau, and her Irish counterpart, Simon Harris TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, have this afternoon paid a joint visit to NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin (UCD).

Minister Retailleau is part of a delegation of French Government Ministers and officials, led by Élisabeth Borne, Prime Minister of France, which is currently visiting Ireland on the invitation of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD to discuss economic and energy links between both countries.

This working visit will allow an in-depth exchange between the two heads of government on international issues and the strengthening of the bilateral relationship and follows on from the visit of President Macron to Ireland in 2021.

Professor Helen Roche, interim UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact formally welcomed Minister Retailleau and Minister Harris TD to the University.

At the end of 2022, the Embassy of France in Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and UCD signed of a MoU establishing a new International Technical Expert (ETI) role, based at NovaUCD, dedicated to strengthening Innovation and Applied Research links between France and Ireland.

Earlier this year, Jean-Michel Portefaix was appointed to this ETI role. Building on the strong base of academic and cultural co-operation between France and Ireland, the ETI is working with multiple stakeholders in France and Ireland with the aim of broadening co-operation and mutual understanding in the fields of applied research and innovation.

The ETI is also working closely with the Research and Innovation Department at Enterprise Ireland, as the co-ordinator of the Irish National Contact Point network for the Horizon Europe programme.

While at NovaUCD, Minister Retailleau and Minister Harris TD had a short tour of UCD’s hub of innovation and start-up activities, which last month celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its official opening. During the tour three UCD spin-out companies, Biosimulytics, Output Sports and Plasma Bound, demonstrated their innovative technologies to both Government Ministers and officials.

Biosimulytics, a pharma software company, has developed technology which shortens the time to market, and reduces the risks for important developments in the pharmaceutical industry, in getting from molecules to medicine (M2M) and is a key enabling technology for the new era of precision medicine.

Earlier this year the company signed an exclusive partnership agreement with CGG, a global technology and HPC leader headquartered in Paris. CGG will provide Biosimulytics with a fully customized HPC (high performance computing), AI, and cloud solution to rapidly serve the company’s growing volume of pharmaceutical customers worldwide.

Output Sports’ products enable strength and conditioning coaches, sport scientists and rehab professionals, to fully understand and optimise their athletes’ performance using a single wearable sensor system. Output Sports’ technology is currently used by sports practitioners across 30+ countries and sports, including in France.

Plasma Bound, which has established strong links with the French automotive and aerospace industries, has developed a ground-breaking, environmentally friendly, lightweight composite bonding technology, Controlled Polymer Ablation (CPA), that poses real potential as a key solution in advanced manufacturing. The CPA technology, which is attracting significant interest in several sectors, is set to bring about a step-change in manufacturing as it not only protects the environment, reduces waste and energy consumption but also eliminates the need for manual interventions.

 

Following the tour Minister Retailleau took part in a round table discussion on the Irish innovation, start-up and entrepreneurial ecosystem, chaired by Tom Flanagan, UCD Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation.

Those attending the round table included members of the UCD research and entrepreneurial community and several recent UCD graduates and current UCD students. Also participating in the discussions were representatives of Enterprise Ireland, Expertise France, the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Embassy of France in Ireland.

Among those taking part in the roundtable discussions were;

Peter Doyle, CEO and co-founder, Biosimulytics

Edward Simons, co-founder, EpiCapture

Dr Darragh Whelan, COO and co-founder, Output Sports

Dr Fiona McGillicuddy, UCD School of Medicine and promoter of MetHealth, winner of the 2022 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme

Professor Patricia Maguire, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, Director, UCD Institute of Discovery and co-lead, AI_PREMie

Stephen O’Dwyer, founder, Trojan Track, currently participating on the 2023 AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme

Oisin Mallon, undergraduate student at the UCD Quinn School of Business, and currently the Mont Kavanagh Enterprise Internship Scholar at NovaUCD working with Binarii Labs

Simon Peter, undergraduate student at the UCD College of Engineering and Architecture, co-promoter of exVal, winner of the 2023 NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition

Andrew Moore, undergraduate student at the UCD Quinn School of Business

Róisín Normoyle, Business and Law undergraduate student and Auditor, UCD Investors and Entrepreneurs Society

Barra O'Mahony, commerce undergraduate student and Head of Entrepreneurs, UCD Investors and Entrepreneurs Society

Mihaela Borta, economic and finance undergraduate student, Head of Marketing, UCD Investors and Entrepreneurs Society and Chair, UCD Enactus Programme

Caimin Kenny, Commerce undergraduate student, Head Start-Up Accelerator Programme, UCD Investors and Entrepreneurs Society and a former participant of the NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition

and

Meg Brennan, a UCD graduate and a former participant of the NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition and currently participating on the Founders Programme at Dogpatch Labs, with PollinKnow.

For full article with images visit here.

For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie