Galway, and the west of Ireland, is a thriving and dynamic place for enterprise and entrepreneurs. With a student population of over 18,000 and immense research outputs, our university plays a crucial role in underpinning this ecosystem. The region is recognised internationally as a hotspot for sectors including med-tech, ICT, marine and creative industries. In terms of technology transfer and its commercial activities and achievements, NUI Galway continues to perform highly in relation to every other Irish university. Innovation Office The Innovation Office at NUI Galway is the knowledge-transfer and entrepreneurial hub for the university. The Innovation Office works with the NUI Galway research community in bridging the gap between research and industry. Through this engagement with industry, the impact of innovations and expertise realises its full potential. The team within the office have extensive commercial experience and a network of industry experts, patent agents and legal experts to help commercially exploit research outputs for the benefit of the university and the wider community. Services and Supports The Innovation Office offers many services and supports, including: NUI Galway creates an environment that promotes entrepreneurship, and innovation and impact.
•
Delivering policy, processes, guidelines and skills development for researchers; Managing university intellectual property and technologies to achieve commercial outcomes;
•
•
Running student innovation and entrepreneurship programmes;
•
Establishing partnerships with industry to facilitate collaborative research projects; Encouraging the establishment of start-up companies; Managing the Business Innovation Centre and Bioincubation facilities, which are home to over 35 companies; Building on new business partnerships of investors and management teams for NUI Galway commercialisation activities.
•
•
•
Ecosystem for Students There is a strong innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem on campus for students. The university provides support for turning ideas into viable businesses. The Innovation Office is part of a wider ecosystem at the university which promotes a strong culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, equipping students with the required skillset to exploit commercial opportunities in their future careers. The Innovation Office team works with post- graduate and PhD students through dedicated extracurricular programmes to support innovative ideas and entrepreneurship. Over 7,000 students have been engaged in the process, via NUI Galway LaunchPad, since 2016. For those wanting to develop or create a med-tech startup, NUI Galway has dedicated programmes. These include BioExel, Ireland’s first medtech accelerator, and the BioInnovate Programme which is based on a approach used in Stanford University. Business Innovation Centre The Innovation Office offers facilities in the NUI Galway Business Innovation Centre of benefit to any new company. The Business Innovation Centre is a hive of activity, with an average of five new companies joining every year and over 35 companies based there at any one time.
www.nuigalway.ie/innovation
281
Powered by FlippingBook