SHANNON Applied Biotechnology Centre (Shannon ABC), a research, development and innovation centre based in Munster, is hosting a conference on Open Innovation this Thursday and Friday at LIT. The conference will be attended by Minister of State Brian Hayes and will be officially opened by Dr Maria Hinfelaar, President of LIT. Open innovation is a concept that assumes that firms can and should use external as well as internal ideas and paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology.
Shannon ABC is a collaborative response by Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) and the Institute of Technology, Tralee (ITT) to the needs of industry and is core funded by Enterprise Ireland.
Dr Siobhan Moane, Head of Research and Technology Transfer at LIT stated, “Historically academia has focused on basic research with long lead-in times to commercialisation, sometimes making it difficult for industry to benefit from academic collaborations. This is changing however as many third level institutions are now providing much more business facing resources and are striving to produce value from state funded research. This shift and increase in commercially focused research has provided an excellent opportunity for companies to engage in open innovation and utilise the considerable scientific human resources and expertise that are available in Ireland.”
Dr Joe Walsh, External Services Manager at ITT also commented that “the conference will provide a platform for industry to demonstrate the benefits that open innovation has delivered for their companies, in particular, Irish SMEs.”
Speaking about the Conference, Minister Sean Sherlock praised Shannon ABC’s initiative saying “This Conference being run by Shannon ABC is exactly the type of event we need – showcasing how Irish companies are collaborating with third level institutes to innovate and become competitive on a world stage.”
Dr Tim Yeomans, Shannon ABC Centre Manager, believes that the third level sector in Ireland provides an exceptional opportunity for companies to engage in Open Innovation. Speaking from the Shannon ABC centre in LIT Tim said, “Multinational companies have really embraced the notion of Open Innovation, with companies such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever having specific teams to scout for potential open innovation partners. Equally Irish SMEs have also recognised the value in an external innovation partner, and often turn to the third level sector for this.” The provision of a return on investment for state funded research and researchers are a key Government metric and this Conference will offer specific examples of this. The conference is open to the public and will begin at 9am in the Millennium Theatre at the Moylish campus in LIT.
At the Shannon ABC (Applied Biotechnology Centre) Open Innovation conference at the Limerick Institute of Technology, were: Brian Hayes T.D. Minister of State at the Dept. of Public Expenditure & Reform); Oliver Murphy, President IT Tralee; Dr Maria Hinfelaar, President LIT and Kieran O’Donnell T.D. where they are pictured in CELLS Shannon ABC facility at LIT where green algae is cultivated for the production of astaxanthin – the natural flesh pigment of salmon – for the fish industry. Picture by Kieran Clancy
