Pat Frain, Director of NovaUCD – UCD’s Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre
Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, recently announced that Enterprise Ireland is to make a significant investment in UCD to strengthen its Technology Transfer Office.
The investment forms part of the €8.5 million which Minister Martin is making available to ensure that ideas, research and technology generated in the Higher Education Institutions are used to keep Irish companies at the cutting-edge of the knowledge economy. The investment will enable NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre to employ three additional experienced technology transfer professionals as well as a contracts manager and administrative support.
The funding is being made available under Enterprise Ireland’s €30 million Technology Transfer Initiative.
Welcoming Minister Martin’s announcement Dr Pat Frain, Director, NovaUCD said, “The growing level of research in UCD is fuelling the generation of increasing numbers of invention disclosures and other opportunities for commercialisation. International experience has shown that successful commercialisation can only be achieved with the support of strong technology transfer offices, such as NovaUCD.” He added, “Given the increasing pressures to demonstrate a return on the growing public investment in R&D and the long lead time involved in the successful commercialisation of the resulting intellectual property, Enterprise Ireland’s support for the expansion of the NovaUCD technology transfer team is warmly welcomed.”
NovaUCD is responsible for the implementation of UCD’s policies relating to the commercialisation of intellectual property and for the management of the intellectual property portfolio arising from UCD’s research programmes.
For further information contact:
Micéal Whelan, NovaUCD
e-mail: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie
tel: (01) 716 3712
