Dr Eddie O’Connor, one of Ireland’s leading serial green entrepreneurs today delivered the 70th NovaUCD ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminar.

The aim of the ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminars, which are organised by NovaUCD in association with the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board, is to promote a spirit of entrepreneurship among the academic, research and student population at UCD. Dr O’Connor today launched the 13th seminar series which has a clean-tech theme.

Dr Eddie O’Connor is founder and CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power whose global vision is to develop, construct and operate a range of renewable energy plants using wind energy, solar thermal and ocean currents. The company, which was established in 2008, has raised €72 million in funding including a €20 million investment from Barclays Capital. Dr O’Connor was previously the founder and CEO of Airtricity Holdings Ltd, a global leader in renewable energy development and wind farm operations.

Dr Eddie O'Connor

His insight for would-be entrepreneurs was that, “In a world dominated by sectional interests, entrepreneurs flourish by taking a customer focused ethical stance and are the living embodiment of the values they espouse.”

The remaining guest speakers in the current series, which take place each Wednesday lunch time (1 pm – 1:50 pm) until November 11 are; Dr Peter Daly, co-founder, Cleantech Ireland (October 21), Tom Marren, MD, Combined Energy Solutions (October 28) and Dr Hugh Henry, Director of Innovation and R&D, Bord na Móna (November 4).

At the last seminar (November 11) a panel including André Fernon, co-founder, SolarPrint, Andrew Parish, CEO, Wavebob and John Travers, CEO, Alternative Energy Resources will share their experiences of Enterprise Ireland’s first dedicated clean-tech trade mission to Silicon Valley which ended recently.

The seminars, which are free to attend, take place in NovaUCD, Belfield, Dublin 4 and attendance is open to all.

Speaking at the launch of the current seminar series, Dr Pat Frain, Director, NovaUCD, said, “Given the current economic climate it is not surprising that the ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminars are attracting large and diverse audiences. The establishment of new high-tech ventures is vitally important in transferring research-generated intellectual property into the market place and creating sustainable knowledge-intensive jobs. Given UCD’s research strengths in clean-tech it is not surprising that it has spun-out many clean-tech ventures over the last two decades.”

At the NovaUCD ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminars the guest entrepreneurs talk about their experiences of setting-up and running their businesses and reveal the secrets of their success. They also emphasise the lessons learnt and the highs and lows encountered along their entrepreneurial journeys.

Michael Johnson, CEO, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board said, “The ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminar series is a hugely successful collaboration between our organisation and NovaUCD. By talking openly about their experiences as entrepreneurs, the featured business owners give audiences a valuable insight into the commercial and personal challenges that arise when starting and growing a venture.” He added that, “particularly in the current economic circumstances, there is an urgent need for entrepreneurship to be promoted as a viable career choice and as a means to put Ireland back on the path to growth.”

Previous NovaUCD ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ guest speakers include; Anne Heraty, CPL Group; Colm Lyon, Realex Payments; Eamonn Fallon, Daft.ie; Sean Gallagher, Smarthomes and Dr John Teeling, Cooley Distillery.

The launch of the 13th NovaUCD ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminar series was part of Innovation Dublin 2009, a week long festival of events to showcase, highlight, promote and encourage innovation and creativity in Dublin and runs from 14 to 20 October.

Click here for further information on the 13th NovaUCD ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminar series including speaker profiles.

ENDS

14 October 2009

For further information contact Micéal Whelan, NovaUCD, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: +353 (0)1 716 3712.

Editors Notes

NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, is the hub of knowledge transfer activities at UCD.  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 has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx.

The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board is a State Enterprise Development Agency offering support to individuals in the county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown who are thinking of starting a business and to those who are looking to grow their small business. There are 35 City & County Enterprise Boards in Ireland and the role of each is to help the development of micro-enterprises (i.e. businesses with up to 10 employees). .

Innovation Dublin is a week-long festival promoting innovation and creativity in the city. Taking place October 14-20, it’s an opportunity for Dubliners, whether they’re entrepreneurs, students, researchers, artists or large corporations, to celebrate new ideas and fresh initiatives. Over 200 exciting events are scheduled including seminars, workshops, tours, showcases, discussions, exhibitions and live performances. Each event is themed around a key aspect of urban life: culture, enterprise, people, the environment or the public realm.