NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at University College Dublin, is hosting an Open Morning on Tuesday, March 23rd. The Open Morning takes place during the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown 2010 Enterprise Week, Dublin’s largest pro-enterprise initiative. The aim of the Open Morning is to give existing and budding high-tech entrepreneurs an opportunity to discover the unique services, supports and facilities available at NovaUCD.  

Ray Nolan, the award winning serial internet entrepreneur and founder of Web Reservations International and Worky.com, will be the guest speaker during the Open Morning. Ray will deliver an ‘Entrepreneurs Live!' seminar during which he will reveal the secrets of his entrepreneurial success. Within only a 10-year period he established, grew and last November sold, Web Reservations International for over $340 million to San Francisco-based private equity investor Hellman & Friedman. 

Ray Nolan, serial internet entrepreneur

Speaking in advance of the NovaUCD Open Morning Ray Nolan said, “In the current economic climate it is vitally important that we keep positive about business and start-up growth.” He added, “I strongly encourage everyone, especially students, to seriously think about getting involved in entrepreneurship. New and existing entrepreneurs, especially high-tech entrepreneurs, have a significant role to play in Ireland’s economic recovery and the development of a Smart economy.”

At the ‘Entrepreneurs Live!’ seminar, organised in association with the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board, Ray will also talk about his experiences of setting-up and running his businesses, emphasising the lessons he has learnt along the way and he will summarise the highs and lows so far encountered on his entrepreneurial journey.

According to Dr Pat Frain, Director, NovaUCD, “There is an increasing recognition of the role of universities in promoting entrepreneurship. The establishment of new high-tech ventures is vitally important in transferring research-generated intellectual property into the market place and creating high-quality jobs.” He added, “There is a growing pipeline of innovative ideas emerging from UCD, many of which are destined to be exploited in the years ahead through new knowledge-intensive ventures.” He concluded, “The overall objective of the NovaUCD Open Morning is to give budding and existing high-tech entrepreneurs an opportunity to drop-in and visit our facility, to discover the unique services, supports and facilities available, and to learn about opportunities to access innovative ideas arising from UCD research.”

During the Open Morning visitors will also have an opportunity to meet with, listen and talk to members of NovaUCD’s successful community of entrepreneurs including; David Seavers, co-founder Aonta Technologies, Owen O’Connor, founder, Cernam and Dr Emmeline Hill, co-founder, Equinome.

The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown 2010 Enterprise Week runs from March 22nd to 26th and features a series of county-wide activities aimed at entrepreneurs, micro-enterprises, the recently unemployed and others who are thinking of setting-up a business.

Click here for further details on NovaUCD’s Open Morning including, registration instructions.

ENDS

10 March 2010

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

Editor’s Notes

NovaUCD is University College Dublin’s Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre.  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 nurtures new technology and knowledge-intensive enterprises. NovaUCD has over 40 incubation units, including bio-incubation units, and provides innovators and entrepreneurs with the necessary support and knowledge to take their ideas from proof of principle to commercial success. Twenty-seven knowledge-intensive companies are currently located in NovaUCD. 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 2010 Enterprise Week runs from March 22nd to March 26th. A busy calendar of events includes innovation and e-Business seminars, networking evenings, open days and idea generation talks.  An estimated 2,000 people are expected to attend the fourteen scheduled events, most of which are completely free of charge. The organisations sponsoring the week are Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Enterprise Ireland and Bank of Ireland Business Banking. Support organisations, in addition to NovaUCD, include IADT, Southside Partnership DLR, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Chamber, Dundrum Credit Union, the Irish Internet Association and the Dún Laoghaire Community Enterprise Centre.