The UCC Innovation team, and colleagues from across UCC who are involved in innovation and entrepreneurship, are delighted to bring you the Spring 2023 edition of the UCC Innovates eNewsletter.

Content in this edition includes:

• Women researchers won all accolades at the 2023 GatewayUCC’s SPRINT Awards.
• The awards celebrate the commercialisation of research to address key health, social and environmental issues.
• GatewayUCC supports researcher-led start-up and spin-out companies.

Inspiring women entrepreneurs event to be hosted in UCC

• One in five people in Ireland aspires to start a business in the next 3 years
• There are approximately 3,400 new business owners every month in Ireland. 59% are men and 41% are women
• Ireland has the third-highest rate for early-stage female entrepreneurs across Europe
• UCC event aims to inspire to establish innovative, global businesses

FINTECHNEXT is a multi-million euro, four-year collaborative research programme between University College Cork and Fexco, supported by Science Foundation Ireland.

FINTECHNEXT’s objective is to undertake collaborative research focussed on technological innovation in financial services that will have a significant impact on the economy and society.

• UCC Innovation launches digital badge in Innovation and Intellectual Property (IP) – the first of its kind in Ireland.
• Pilot course geared towards postgraduate students, researchers and staff in the UCC College of Science, Engineering and Food Science.
• Course aims to empower and educate researchers to be more informed about the opportunities around University IP.

• Four women founders awarded €3.27m from Enterprise Ireland.
• The MedTech start-up prospects are shaping the future of healthcare.
• Women-led start-ups are pushing the bar higher each year according to new report.

The Annual Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) Awards are taking place on December 1st 2022 in Dublin. These awards recognise significant impact and achievements from knowledge transfer and the commercialisation of publicly funded research in universities and other State research institutions. The awards pay tribute to the work of those within Ireland’s Innovation and Technology Transfer community who provide a vital link between industry and academic research. UCC has had significant success at these awards over the years with 6 awards over the last 6 years. We are delighted that one of our spin-out companies, Adiso Therapeutics, is shortlisted for this year’s commercialisation award, which focuses on spin-out companies.

 The UCC Innovation team, and colleagues from across UCC who are involved in innovation and entrepreneurship, are delighted to bring you the winter edition of the UCC Innovates eNewsletter.

The Call for Proposals for the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund programme is now open.   This is a great programme to advance technolgy ideas that you may have towards commercialisation into useful products. 

The aim of the EI Commercialisation Fund Programme is to improve the competitiveness of the Irish economy through the creation of technology based start-up companies and the transfer of innovations developed in Research Performing Organisations to Irish industry.

The programme will fund the development of innovations at all stages of the commercial pipeline to the point where they can be commercialised as new products, services and companies.

Join on on Wednesday 29 May to find out what supports we offer to assist companies develop and deliver their research and innovation strategy.

Declan Soden has been nominated for the Enterprise Ireland Founder of the Year Awards 2019 for his startup Mirai Medical.

A financial technology research collaboration between technology company Fexco, University College Cork and Science Foundation Ireland, has been launched today.  

Established in 2015 as a spin-out of University College Cork, Mirai medical is using research carried out over 15 years at Cork Cancer Research Centre on the use of electricity to treat cancer.

Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) kicked off its national roadshow to present the IP (intellectual property) Protocol 2019 to businesses and researchers around the country in UCC this week. It was also presented in Limerick, Galway and Dublin.

Andrea Doolan, CEO of Atlantia Food Clinical Trials, charts the company’s journey from spin-out to stateside expansion

There was standing room only at the recent Spin-out roadshow hosted by UCC in partnership with CIT,  Atlantic Bridge and Bank of Ireland which saw entrepreneurs and researchers gather to hear about the funding supports available to Irish startup companies.

THe new National IP Protocol 2019 will be launch by Knowledge Transfer Ireland at UCC on Monday 1 April.

Do you want to play a key role in developing a business based on novel appetite modulators from research at University College Cork?

Five research projects at UCC and Tyndall have been awarded funding through Science Foundation Ireland’s Technology Innovation Development Award (TIDA) programme to support their commercialisation for 12 months.

An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, yesterday announced the opening of new offices for Atlantia Food Clinical Trials in Chicago.

Galway’s Marine Institute is backing twelve small enterprises driving new innovations in marine technology with €2.4 million in funding including UCC UCC spinout company Exceedence Ltd.

UCC wishes to appoint to the role of Head of Consultancy Services. Reporting to the Director of Technology Transfer, the Head of Consultancy Services will have responsibility for the establishment and management of UCCs consultancy services. This post will support the growth of consultancy activity across the University, and deliver an excellent professional consultancy service for both academic and external customers. 

The winner of this year’s InterTrade Ireland Seedcorn competition, NUIG/UCC spin-out company Loci Orthopaedics, is a medtech company with an ambitious agenda — to disrupt the €550m thumb joint surgery market.

UCC start-up ApisProtect, an Irish agtech innovator using the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor honey bee colonies, today announced the close of a €1.5 million seed round of financing led by top-tier international venture capital investors Finistere Ventures and Atlantic Bridge Capital. Radicle Growth, the Yield Lab and Enterprise Ireland also participated in the investment round. 

Dr. Rich Ferrie has been appointed Director of the Office of Technology Transfer at University College Cork.

Cancer Diagnostics, Skin Ageing, Battery Life, Music Technology and Neonatal Vaccine innovations scoop prestigious Invention of the Year awards held at UCC

A Cork life sciences company is looking to commercialise its breakthrough cell detection technology that could revolutionise cancer diagnostics and other research.

WHEN Capitol Records releases a new remix of the classic Beach Boys hit ‘Good Vibrations’ in the coming months, AudioSourceRE will be credited with the software that brought the original mono tracks into stereo.

There is something very special happening at the Office of Technology Transfer in UCC — it’s not just the world-class tech innovation and research, but also the volume of women involved in carrying it out.

Shortlist announced for 2018 Invention of the Year Awards by Bridge Network 

The Bridge Network is actively responding to the Review of Intellectual Property Management and Conflicts of Interest Policies published in February this year by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

Publication of the Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey 2017 by Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) reports strong performance for University College Cork in research collaborations, business engagement and commercialisation activity.

Bridge Network News Update Spring 2018

The technology transfer consortium Bridge Network is pleased to announce the launch of its new, mobile-friendly website:

University College Cork is seeking an experienced leader for our Office of Technology Transfer who is entrepreneurial, flexible, responsive, and can demonstrate effective management and deal-execution skills.

UCC hosted the Bridge Network Invention of the Year Awards sponosred by Purdy Lucey Intellectual Property. 5 awards given out in Life Sciences and ICT/Physical Sceinces Categories

It’s time to announce the winners!  UCC is hosting the Bridge Network Invention of the Year awards in UCC on Tuesday, 14^th November at 4pm in the Western Gateway Building.  This is the 10^th Anniversary of the event. 

Derek Waddell has been appointed as UCCs Interim Director of Technology Transfer.

Anthony Morrissey, Commercialisation Case Manager for the ICT, Physical Sciences and Engineering, received a UCC Staff Recognition Award in the "Impact" Category.  It is a great accolade for Anthony, deservedly recognsing the impact he has had on our relationships with external company partners, the success of our applications for funding and transferring our technology to industry

 The technology arises from a UCC hosted “BioInnovate” programme and is established in collaboration with NUIG.

We are delighted that two new UCC patents have been granted recently by the USPTO

Great news for everyone involved in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in UCC. 

Eamon Curtin, Director - IGNITE Graduate Business Innovation Programme at UCC has published a very interesting article on LinkedIn on the scaling of your network.

UK Company, Wavepower Technologies, opens new office at The Entrepreneur Ship (MaREI) Cork.

We are delighted that two new UCC patents have been granted in the last month by the USPTO

Our newsletter, called Technology Transfer@UCC, is launched this week.

With this, we aim to give you a sense of some of the important things happening in UCC technology transfer.

UCC awards its first Commercialization Impact Award to the team behind Oculus Ireland technology. 

UCC celebrated the current and future successful innovations at its Annual showcase event, the Commercialisation Awards, last week.  The 7^th Annual PurdyLucey Invention of the Year awards were hosted by UCC in the Western Gateway building.  This year for the first time, we were joined by both our technology transfer network partners, Teagasc and Cork Institute of Technology, who also provided awards through this competition to celebrate their respective research communities.

This week UCC based entrepreneur Conor O'Shea won the Cork BIC Investor Challenge.  Conor is CEO of the company, Skellig Surgical Limited, a medical device company based in the UCC Gateway Incubation Centre and part of the Gateway Sprint programme.  The company will initially focus on the production of a minimally invasive small bowel retractor to help gastrointestinal surgeons.

UCC’s Office of Technology Transfer will be hosting the PurdyLucey Invention of the Year award presentations on Tuesday November 22^nd in the Western Gateway Building Restaurant at 4pm. 

This event, sponsored by the PurdyLucey Intellectual Property, recognises the most innovative inventions for the Technology Transfer Consortium of

• University College Cork,
• Teagasc, Agriculture and Food Development Authority and
• Cork Institute of Technology

UCCs Office of Technology Transfer had a very good night at the annual Knowledge Transfer Impact Awards (23rd June) at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin winning two of the seven national awards on the night.

Reuters’ first-ever ranking of Europe’s top 100 “innovative” universities includes University College Cork.  Read the article in the Irish Examiner here. 

While visiting UCC this week, Alison Campbell, Director of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), took the opportunity to recognise the receipt of professional accreditations by the technology transfer staff in UCC and CIT.  Both institutions are part of the KTI funded UCT Technology Transfer consortium, led by UCC.  

Indie.Bio is a startup accelerator which focuses on entrepreneurs building technologies in or around the field of Biotech. It offers seed funding, lab space as well as mentorship to help take an idea to a product.  

Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Explain Your Mood?

Last week (23rd June 2015) the New York Times magazine addressed this question.  UCC's Professor John Cryan was one of three scientists interviewed for the article which notes that "a team of researchers at University College Cork, in Ireland, and McMaster University, in Ontario, published a study [in 2011] in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science that has become one of the best-known experiments linking bacteria in the gut to the brain."

Enterprise Ireland have announced a second call for applications for 2015. It will close at 5pm on July 17th.

Congratulations to UCC spinout campus company Alimentary Health Ltd for winning the SME award at the 2015 US Ireland Research Innovation Awards at the American Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. 

Alimentary Health was spun out of UCC in 2001.  Based in Cork, the company focuses on the  discovery, development and commercialisation of proprietary bacterial and pharmabiotic treatments.

This year UCC teams has been shortlisted in two Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) Impact Award catagories.  The awards which will be presented on March 25th in Dublin by Damien English TD, Minister of State for Skills, Research and Innovation. 

The Gateway Incubation Centre Manager, Myriam Cronin was interviewed by The Irish Examiner recently to discuss the role of the Gateway Incubation Centre and the job of the Incubation Manager.  The article talks job creation, innovation and entrepreneurship with the Irish Examiner and how the initiative contributes heavily to the lifeblood of our economy.

Click here to read the full article

Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation Damien English T.D., has launched a high-tech spinout, GRASP Wearable Technologies. Its first market-ready offering will measure running biomechanics.

Using sophisticated algorithms, GRASP will be able to provide an instantaneous three dimensional profile about a user’s stride length, vertical lift and impact. This information can be used to draw informed conclusions about a user's performance and efficiency, and can be applied to improving an athlete’s running technique and helping avoid injury, to analysing real-time player and team position and movement patterns in team sports.