Rhona Togher, Eimear O'Carroll & Anthony Carolan, co-founders, Restored Hearing, a participant on NovaUCD's 2010 CCDP
Sixteen new high-tech and knowledge-intensive business ventures, involving 34 individuals, have joined NovaUCD’s 2010 entrepreneurship programme. The NovaUCD 2010 Campus Company Development Programme (CCDP), which has just commenced, assists academic and research entrepreneurs at University College Dublin in bringing their innovative ideas from intellectual concepts to fully developed and sound commercial businesses. NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property arising from UCD research programmes.
Now in its fifteenth year 156 new ventures and 235 individuals have completed this programme which is supported by Enterprise Ireland. Former participants now collectively employ over 750 people and companies such as BiancaMed, Celtic Catalysts, Equinome, RendezVu and TopChem have previously taken part in the programme.
The new ventures and individuals participating on this year's programme are commercialising research undertaken throughout the University, including research in UCD Schools of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine; Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering; Medicine and Medical Science and in UCD's National Folklore Collection, Innovation Research Unit and Urban Institute of Ireland.
Dr Pat Frain, Director, NovaUCD said, “The CCDP is NovaUCD’s main support programme aimed mainly at academic entrepreneurs. It is designed specifically to assist academics and researchers in establishing new ventures to commercialise the innovative ideas arising from their research programmes.” He added, “These ventures will generate new high-tech jobs to add to the over 750 jobs already created by CCDP participants over the years. This aspect of the CCDP is of course critically important for the development of a Smart Economy.”
The CCDP is a nine-month, part-time programme designed to suit the busy timetable of researchers and academics. It offers a mix of monthly workshops, mentoring and one-to-one consultancy. It is delivered by NovaUCD staff, with support from the NovaUCD sponsors, Enterprise Ireland, as well as other outside experts.
The CCDP is designed to assist the entrepreneurs by providing them with the skills necessary to transform their ideas into commercially feasible new ventures. Participants on the programme have the opportunity to access NovaUCD’s desk space and incubation facilities and associated innovation services. The programme culminates with a high profile Awards Evening which this year will be held on 16 November 2010.
Equinome, which earlier this year launched a breakthrough genetic test that can identify the optimum racing distance for individual Thoroughbred horses, was the overall winner of NovaUCD's 2009 CCDP. Dr Emmeline Hill, a leading horse genomics researcher in UCD’s School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, co-founded the company with Jim Bolger, the renowned Irish racehorse trainer and breeder.
