NovaUCD 2007 Report
Foreword
NovaUCD the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at UCD offers a comprehensive programme and facilities to support the commercialisation of UCD research and other knowledge-intensive activity.
The growing level of R&D expenditure in UCD is fuelling the generation of increasing numbers of invention disclosures and other commercial opportunities. International experience has shown that successful realisation of these commercial opportunities is best achieved with the support of a strong and professional technology transfer office such as NovaUCD.
A key development for NovaUCD during the year was the significant expansion of the technology transfer team. Five new staff members were added with the support of the Enterprise Ireland €30 million initiative to strengthen University Technology Transfer Offices. Given the increasing pressures to demonstrate a return on the growing level of public investment in R&D and the long lead time involved in the successful commercialisation of the resulting intellectual property, this support from Enterprise Ireland was a very timely and welcomed initiative.
Another key development was the establishment of the €30 million AIB Seed Capital Fund which has located at NovaUCD. The Fund, which is being equally funded by AIB and Enterprise Ireland was the first fund to be established under Enterprise Ireland’s €175 million Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007-2012. The Fund will focus on early stage high-potential start-ups such as those spinning out from UCD research.
In the last year, considerable progress has also been made in developing the UCD community of innovators and entrepreneurs and in commercialising their research outputs mainly through licensing and new venture formation.
Key achievements during the last year include:
- Fifty inventions disclosures were reported to NovaUCD, an increase of 35% from the previous year
- Nine priority patent applications were filed by UCD across all areas of life sciences, engineering and information communication technology
- Nine PCT and eight national/regional patents were also filed
- Eight licence agreements were concluded with a range of indigenous and international companies
- Four new UCD spin-out companies were incorporated
- UCD’s most successful licence to date which relates to the development of a BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) test has now earned over €2 million in royalty income for UCD
- BiancaMed, Celtic Catalysts, Lightwave Technologies and Visor, amongst others, successfully raised funding
- The promoters of nine new ventures completed the NovaUCD 2007 Campus Company Development Programme
- The NovaUCD 2007 Innovation Award was presented to Professor Ciaran Regan, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science
- 24 knowledge-intensive ventures occupying 88% of the incubation space were located at NovaUCD at year end
- A total of nine companies have now graduated from NovaUCD to make way for new clients as part of NovaUCD’s strategy of continuously refreshing our community of entrepreneurs
- NovaUCD and Simpson Financial and Technology PR were recognised for excellence in public relations at the 2007 PRCA (Ireland) Awards for Excellence in Public Relations.
During 2007 NovaUCD also continued with its various initiatives to support researchers and entrepreneurs.
- NovaUCD arranged and hosted 120 events to increase awareness of intellectual property and other commercial issues and to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation among researchers, students and staff at UCD
- NovaUCD developed PhD modules in Innovation and Knowledge Transfer which are delivered as part of UCD’s Graduate Studies’ Structured PhD Programme
- Increasing levels of support were provided by NovaUCD and the NovaUCD Network for innovators and entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas from the research laboratory through proof-of-principle and prototype development to successful commercialisation.
- NovaUCD was also involved in a number of international organisations including AURIL, Institute of Knowledge Transfer and ProTon Europe. The aim is to enhance the contribution of universities to innovation by increasing the efficiency of knowledge transfer and university/industry collaboration and enhancing the status and recognition of the knowledge transfer profession.
These and other developments are outlined further in this Report.
Dr Pat Frain, Director, NovaUCD
April 2008
For further information contact: Micéal Whelan, NovaUCD, tel: (01) 716 3712, e-mail: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie.
NovaUCD 2007 Report (832 kbs)