- 15 new ventures to vie for €35,000 prize fund
NovaUCD will showcase 15 new high-tech and knowledge-intensive ventures emerging from University College Dublin (UCD) research programmes during its annual start-up awards evening next week.
Among the ventures to be showcased are AntTweeter and Phision Therapeutics. AntTweeter is developing a location-based, socially-driven question and answering service which utilises the power of twitter to disseminate questions and answers to a wide community. Phision Therapeutics has identified novel small molecule anti-angiogenic compounds that can be used as drugs to inhibit the formation of unwanted blood vessels associated with ophthalmic diseases and cancer.
Each of the 15 new ventures taking part in the showcase are profiled below.
Participants on the NovaUCD 2011 CCDP
The NovaUCD 2011 Campus Company Development Programme (CCDP) Awards Evening will take place on Thursday, 17 November in the William Jefferson Clinton Auditorium, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4. From 4:30 pm attendees will have the opportunity to meet with and talk to the promoters during the new ventures showcase. The main awards event itself will commence at 5:45 pm.
The aim of this key NovaUCD new venture support programme, is to assist UCD academic and research entrepreneurs in the establishment and development of new high-tech ventures to commercialise the output of their research activities. The programme assists participants in defining, developing and transforming their innovative ideas into sound and commercially feasible new enterprises and in preparing detailed business plans.
During the main awards event each of the participants on this year’s programme will deliver a short ‘elevator pitch’. Three short-listed ventures, selected by an independent evaluation panel, will then present their business plans in more detail to an audience comprising members of Ireland’s venture capital, research, state agencies, industry and business communities.
Speaking in advance of the Awards evening Professor Peter Clinch, UCD Vice-President for Innovation said, “The participation of researchers in the establishment of new high-tech ventures, to translate innovative ideas arising from research programmes into value-added products and services, is of critical importance for the development of a sustainable smart economy in Ireland.” He added, “The new high-tech ventures being showcased at this year’s NovaUCD start-up awards, will in time also lead to the generation of highly-skilled employment opportunities.”
A prize fund totaling €35,000 is available to the award winners. The overall winner will be presented with the NovaUCD 2011 Start-Up Award, a cheque for €5,000 and six-months free desk space at NovaUCD. The two other finalists will receive runner-up awards, cheques for €3,000 and €2,000 respectively along with six-months free desk space at NovaUCD.
The NovaUCD 2011 Start-Up Award
In addition the overall winner will receive €6,000 worth of professional services from Deloitte, €3,000 worth of legal services from Arthur Cox, €1,000 worth of business and taxation consultancy from Delaney Financial Consultancy and NewMarket Partnership. The winner will also receive a year’s free subscription to the AccountsIQ software which allows SMEs to manage their entire accounting requirements via the internet.
Arthur Cox will also be providing €2,000 and €1,000 worth of legal services respectively to the two runners-up.
Serial entrepreneur, Iain Mac Donald, CEO and co-founder, SkillPages will be the guest entrepreneurial speaker at the Awards evening. SkillPages, a skill-based social network, is transforming the way people with skills connect to the people who need them. Over 2 million people have already joined SkillPages since the start of the year.
Iain Mac Donald, SkillPages
All are welcome to attend the NovaUCD 2011 Campus Company Development Programme Awards Evening. It is free to attend and is taking place as part of the Innovation Dublin 2011 festival.
For further information visit: www.ucd.ie/nova/novaucd2011ccdpawards/
ENDS
10 November 2011
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications Manager (Innovation), UCD, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or t: +353 1 716 3712.
Editors Notes
Profiles of Participating New Ventures
AntTweeter is developing a location-based, socially-driven question and answering service which utilises the power of Twitter to disseminate questions and answers to a wide community. The promoter is Dr Kevin McCarthy, UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics and the CLARITY Centre for Sensor Web Technologies.
APC Ltd provides process engineering solutions to the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The promoters are Professor Brian Glennon and Dr Mark Barrett, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.
Bill Slicer is developing a software application to provide a fair electricity bill splitting method for users in shared living environments. The promoters are Dr Seamus Rooney and Dr Antonio Ruzzelli, UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics and the CLARITY Centre for Sensor Web Technologies.
Building Risk Assessment & Management (BRAM) Consulting Engineers Ltd is providing risk assessment and risk management services for existing buildings during adjacent construction or industrial activities. In addition, it is developing associated software for converting remote sensing data into reconstructed building models. The promoters are Dr Debra Laefer, Dr Linh Truong-Hong and Julie Clarke, UCD School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering.
EcoGlan is developing services, using environmentally friendly technology, for cleaning applications in the agrifood industry. The promoters are Dr Paddy Solan, Dr Tom Curran and Professor Colm O'Donnell, UCD School of Biosystems Engineering.
Entrepreneurshipnet aims to become a leading provider of educational discovery and personalised, curated, search aggregation tools for a global customer base of public and private academic libraries. The promoters are Dr Rory O’Shea, UCD School of Business and Catherine Keane.
Equilume is developing a novel light therapy solution to maximise reproductive efficiency in horses. The light mask will advance the breeding season, shorten gestation lengths and increase foal birth weights, while eliminating the costs of indoor maintenance of mares. The promoters are Dr Barbara Murphy and Caroline Walsh, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science.
ForkStream provides an end-point technology that allows mobile network operators to seamlessly offload mobile users' data to 3rd party wireless networks. The promoters are Dr John Fitzpatrick and Dr Hamid Nafaa, UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics.
Mobifit Technologies is developing a device and associated software for monitoring exercise activity, providing qualitative and quantitative feedback of a user’s exercise performance. The promoters are Ken Taylor and Dr Chris Bleakley, UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics.
miRFUNCTION is developing microRNA protein targets to manipulate cell death in drug resistant cancer cells. The promoter is Dr Fiona Furlong, UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science.
Novel Energy Absorption Mechanism is developing a product with a novel energy absorption mechanism which allows for impact energy dissipation in more than one direction which has multiple applications including crash helmet design. The promoters are Dr Manuel Forero Rueda and Professor Michael Gilchrist, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
Phision Therapeutics has identified novel small molecule anti-angiogenic compounds that can be used as drugs to inhibit the formation of unwanted blood vessels associated with ophthalmic diseases and cancer. The promoters are Dr Breandan Kennedy, Dr Alison Reynolds, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science and Dr Jacintha O’Sullivan, Institute of Molecular Medicine, St. James’s Hospital, Trinity College Dublin.
Scream Technologies is developing novel speech technologies for the interactive entertainment industry enabling game studios to overcome problems with voice recording, fine-tuning and playback. The promoter is Dr Peter Cahill, UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics.
Sire Bank aims to provide a commercial sheep semen collection and storage centre for pedigree and commercial sheep farmers in order to assist them in maximising the breeding process. The promoters are Dr Alan Fahey and Pat Duffy, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science.
Sustainability in Historic Buildings Simulation Software is developing energy simulation software for the analysis of the energy performance of historic buildings. This solution will allow historic buildings to adhere to energy conservation demands while maintaining their artistic, historic and cultural value. The promoter is Florence Timothy-Afolayan, UCD School of Architecture.
The NovaUCD Campus Company Development Programme (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 and is delivered by NovaUCD staff, with support from the NovaUCD sponsors, Enterprise Ireland, as well as other outside experts. It is designed to assist academic entrepreneurs in the establishment and development of knowledge-intensive enterprises by providing the skills necessary to transform innovative ideas into commercially feasible ventures via the development of a business plan. Participants on the programme have the opportunity to access NovaUCD’s desk space and incubation facilities and associated services.
NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, is the hub of innovation and knowledge transfer activities at University College Dublin. NovaUCD is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property arising from UCD research and for the development of co-operation with industry and business. NovaUCD as a purpose-built centre also supports and nurtures new technology and knowledge-intensive enterprises. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.ucd.ie/nova