Enterprise Ireland client company Learnosity, a transformative education technology company, recently announced that The Learnosity Publisher Toolkit won an SIIA CODiE Award for Best K-12 Enterprise Solution.

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, announced Learnosity as one of 31 CODiE Award winners in the education technology category. An SIIA CODiE Award win for ed tech companies is an especially prestigious honour, as each award winner has been selected by a combination of educators, who act as initial judges by selecting finalists from among all nominees, and SIIA members-company peers, who vote to select the winners from among the finalists.

"We are thrilled that our product was recognized as being the best in our category," said Learnosity Founder and CEO, Gavin Cooney. "The Learnosity Publisher Toolkit was up against some leading names in the education industry. To be singled out as 'the best' is important recognition of the value we bring to our customers."

The Learnosity Publisher Toolkit offers a suite of Assessment tools which allow their clients – educational publishers and testing organisations – to add Common Core-aligned, interactive assessments to their digital products. Complementary authoring and reporting tools are also available.

Gavin Cooney continues - "We believe that the pace of innovation in education has lagged behind other industries, and we are committed to reversing that trend. The CODiE award validates that Learnosity is succeeding at bringing innovation to education and, in so doing, instilling a love of learning in students."

"SIIA's 2014 Education CODiE Award winners' are some of the most innovative, high-impact education products out there," said SIIA Vice President for the Education Division Karen Billings. "We congratulate all of this year's CODiE Award winners, and thank them for the contributions they have made to the education industry."

From May 4th – 6th 2014, 27 Irish companies travelled to Texas as part of a 2-day Enterprise Ireland trade mission, led by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD. Contracts worth a total of $14million and leading to the creation of 50 jobs in Ireland were among the initial, immediate results of the very successful programme in Austin and Houston.

“Among the 27 manufacturing, engineering and technology companies accompanying us this week are some truly brilliant companies, and the results announced today show what they are capable of achieving. Some of these are young companies who have grown rapidly to take advantage of the potential of the oil and gas sector – others are more established companies who have adapted their technologies to the opportunities offered by oil and gas”, said Minister Bruton.

“I commend Enterprise Ireland and our companies on their achievements, and wish them every success with their future growth in Texas. I look forward to seeing further results – in terms of increased jobs and exports for Ireland – from their development in the coming years”.

Over the course of the two days, 14 meetings and events attended by Minister Bruton, introductions were made, contacts developed and business relationships progressed from which significant increases in exports and jobs by Irish companies are targeted over the coming years.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland who accompanied Minister Bruton on the trade mission added: “A key element of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy is to grow indigenous Irish companies on a global scale. The announcements made by Irish companies during this trade mission clearly demonstrate the opportunities that exist for highly innovative and ambitious Irish companies in Texas and the wider Southern States of the US. Enterprise Ireland will continue to work closely with our client companies as they grow their international footprint and create much-needed jobs here in Ireland”.

Both the local communities and travelling delegates welcomed the news of a new Irish Consulate coming to Austin, Texas. Through the continuing work of Enterprise Ireland and a growing Irish presence in the Southern States, business relationships are fast developing in this region.

Enterprise Ireland client company Fenergo, the leading provider of Regulatory Onboarding, Entity Data Management and Client Lifecycle Management software solutions for financial institutions, recently announced it has been named Best Enterprise Data Management provider at the Inside Reference Data Awards.

The company was presented with two awards at a gala awards ceremony held in New York, based on the recommendation of a panel of judges comprised of industry experts and representatives from leading financial institutions.

One award was presented to Fenergo for Best Enterprise Data Management Initiative in the Vendor category for its market-leading Entity Data Management (EDM) solution - a rules-driven, enterprise-wide solution that helps financial institutions build an accurate, consistent and transparent view of all clients, counterparties and related parties to support regulatory compliance and a quick and efficient onboarding process. The other award was presented to the company for Best Enterprise Data Management Initiative in the user category for Fenergo’s implementation of its Entity Data Management as part of a wider Regulatory Onboarding program.

Commenting on the award win, Marc Murphy, CEO of Fenergo, said, “We are honoured to be recognized as the Best Enterprise Data Management providers in the industry, and particularly delighted to win an award for the implementation of our solutions with one of our leading clients. The Fenergo Entity Data Management solution is a strategic pillar in the overall Fenergo proposition. Every Regulatory Onboarding and Client Lifecycle Management process starts with data and most regulatory initiatives share common data and documentation demands. At Fenergo, we adopt an 80/20 approach to regulatory reference data management by enabling financial institutions to intelligently re-use client and counterparty data and documentation across various regulatory initiatives. In this way, financial institutions can solve many regulations simultaneously using a ‘capture-once, re-use many times’ capability. We have proven this methodology in implementations with many leading financial institutions”.

Underpinned by a robust business rules engine, Fenergo’s Entity Data Management solution determines all the data and documentation required to support the regulatory onboarding or client lifecycle management processes with only a few key pieces of data such as legal entity type, role, jurisdiction, products and banking entity. It is capable of extracting useful information from digital and paper-based documentation, while storing the documentation for regulatory coverage, and tracks expiry and other changes to data/documentation to provide lifetime compliance.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation recently launched a new competition to find Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, with a total fund of €2million available to invest in winning businesses and entrepreneurs in every county in the country.

The competition will be run by the new Local Enterprise Offices, and the winners at county level will be eligible for an investment in their business of up to €25,000, while the winners at national level can receive an additional investment of up to €50,000. Investments in winning businesses will be determined according to business prospects and investment needs.

Mentoring, marketing and other supports will also be available to participating businesses at various stages of the competition.
The competition is open to individuals aged 30 and under and will be judged under three distinct categories:

• best new idea
• best start-up business
• best established business with new add-on

The first stage will be a county-based competition (run by the 31 LEOs) leading to the naming of the Best Young Entrepreneur in each county. This stage will include boot camps and mentoring programmes. This will be followed by regional finals and ultimately national finals with one business-person being crowned Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur before the end of the year.

There have been expressions of interest from television production companies on the possibility of covering the later stages of the competition in a reality TV format. It is expected that high-profile entrepreneurs will act as judges at various stages of the competition.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage and support a culture of entrepreneurship among young people in Ireland, to promote entrepreneurship as a career choice, and to encourage the establishment and development of new innovative businesses by Ireland’s young entrepreneurs. This is hugely important for job-creation as two thirds of all new jobs are generated by businesses in the first five years of existence – more start-ups and a thriving entrepreneurial culture will lead to more jobs being created.

Applying is simple – go to localenterprise.ie or your Local Enterprise Office – and the deadline is 30th June 2014.

The Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Jobs and Minister for the Environment recently launched the nationwide system of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). The network of 31 LEOs will deliver an improved system of local enterprise supports to start-ups and small businesses across the country – with more staff, more funding, and more services being provided.

The establishment of the LEO network means that people thinking of starting or expanding a business in every part of the country will be able to access the full range of State supports provided by different Government bodies – for example local authorities, Enterprise Ireland, Revenue, the Department of Social Protection, the Credit Review Office, training bodies – in one easily accessible location within the local authority.

The establishment of the LEOs will mean that all categories of business – including sole traders, micro businesses and small and medium sized companies – will have access to Government supports and advice. Previously some businesses – for example, companies who were too large to access CEB supports, but were not exporting and therefore did not qualify for Enterprise Ireland supports – fell through the cracks between different agencies.

Launching the national system of LEOs, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD said: "The Government wants to make recovery local. That means supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs to create local jobs. We will do this through the new network of LEOs. Jobs are the top priority of the Government and there has been progress in the past year with over 1,000 jobs a week being created in the private sector. The vast majority of these jobs have been created in small, local companies. It is these new companies, employing just a few people that make the biggest difference in driving a jobs recovery. The LEOs will be in the front line in making recovery local."

Keelvar, an Enterprise Ireland client based in the Rubicon, at the Cork Institute of Technology have just announced that they have optimized spend in excess of $500m through their innovative procurement solution, with a further $2bn in the pipeline. Clients to date include the UN, the UK Government (Crown Commercial Service) , and a number of FTSE 100 companies, ranging from industries as diverse as supermarket retailers, insurance and banking.

The worlds of sourcing and procurement are opaque to many, however, once the figures relating to the amounts of goods and services sourced annually are mentioned the mists quickly lift, argues Alan Holland, the CEO and Founder.

“We recently exhibited at the World Procurement Congress in London where the attendees in the auditorium were responsible for an annual spend of about $1,900 billion”, advised Holland. Business leaders are realising that one of the largest line items on the P&L needs greater attention and care.

Keelvar’s innovative solution is a product of the research lab, with Holland founding the company following the completion of a PhD on combinatorial auctions while at University College Cork.

“Keelvar’s sourcing optimization solution is already gaining strong traction” adds Alan Gleeson, the Head of Sales and Marketing. “One of the key global ‘thought leaders’ in procurement, Chicago based Jason Busch, recently issued a strong external validation of our approach in an article in the influential Spend Matters journal”, continues Gleeson. “In the report, he concluded that Keelvar’s mission was ‘firmly grounded in helping established professionals and suppliers make a transition to an entirely new sourcing and selling mentality. Simply put, I love it’.”

Keelvar’s solution is designed to help senior procurement professionals in private and public sectors source in a more strategic manner. The goods or services sought are broken into small lots, and suppliers are invited to bundle and package the lots into attractive combinations that match their footprint or strengths. Suppliers can then offer tiered discounts based on winning attractive combinations of business “Unlike typical more adversarial approaches where suppliers are squeezed on price, this approach turns the model on it’s head”, argues Gleeson. “It is a genuine win:win approach where both sides benefit from the transaction, and the side benefits are considerable as the increased flexibility on both sides offers buyers much greater control of the outcome”.

“We are transforming how big buyers go to market to source goods and services and delivering exceptional results”, adds Holland.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD recently announced 40 new jobs at Diona, the international Irish technology company. He made the announcement at the official opening of Diona’s new global headquarters in Dublin.

Already employing 90+ staff with 2013 revenues of € 6 million, the company plans to hire 40 staff in high value jobs across key areas including software engineering, services and global business support, over the next twelve to eighteen months.

This project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

Headquartered in Ireland with offices in India, the UK, Germany, USA, Canada, Dubai and New Zealand, Diona provides innovative mobility solutions and services to global government health and human services agencies. The Diona team in Ireland continues to seek creative and dynamic individuals to help grow their business worldwide and the new office facility in Dublin is a reflection of this significant growth.

Longford Green Isle Foods, a leading Consumer Foods company recently announced that the company will make a significant investment of €30m across its operations in Ireland which will result in an additional 115 jobs over the next 5 years.

The investment programme, supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland will position the company for future growth in Ireland and overseas.

As a result of this investment, an additional 50 jobs will be created at the company’s pizza production facility in Longford and an additional 65 jobs in its pastry production plant in Portumna. Further growth will be supported across its operations following on from today’s announcement. This investment also secures the jobs of the 700 people currently employed by Green Isle.

Green Isle Foods, a leading Irish frozen foods company, is part of the 2 Sisters Food Group which has a total turnover of £3billion with approximately 24,000 employees worldwide. The company operates in some of the most dynamic and fast moving categories of the food industry and represents household names such as Green Isle, Donegal Catch and Goodfella’s.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD recently announced the creation of 125 new jobs at VistaMed in Carrick-on-Shannon and Roosky, Co. Leitrim. The announcement was made at the official opening of VistaMed’s new state-of-the-art extension to its Carrick-on-Shannon manufacturing facility. VistaMed is the leading Irish catheter and extrusion provider to the global medical device industry and a Helix Medical joint venture partner.

The announcement is part of a new investment programme of more than €7million, supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland. Recruitment for these positions is ongoing and positions are expected to be filled by the end of 2014.

This new investment is in response to increased demand in the global medical device market for sophisticated and innovative catheter and stent delivery systems.

Managing Director of VistaMed Patrick Mulholland said: “VistaMed was founded on being a solution provider for technically challenging Catheter and Extrusion products for a worldwide market. This new extension will allow us to offer an even more comprehensive design and development service that combined with the addition of sophisticated equipment will enable us to continue to offer a world class service to the global medical device industry”.

The 35,000 sq. ft. expansion of the Carrick-on-Shannon facility includes 12,000 sq. ft. of cleanroom which is required to meet the growing need for diverse braided catheter assemblies, as well as a new area dedicated to thermoplastic extrusion which is recognised as best-in-class for the stringent catheter tubing requirements for today’s demanding requirements within the Medical industry. VistaMed has also developed a dedicated R&D Engineering Laboratory which reinforces VistaMed’s continuing support for innovative design and development projects and further enhances the rapid project “turnaround” times currently experienced by VistaMed’s global customer base.

Pictured are Enterprise Ireland Divisional Manager Tom Kelly; CEO VistaMed Paddy Mullholland; Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD; Minister of State for Small Businss John PerryTD

Enterprise Ireland recently held an event in London reaching out to leading international food companies and highlighting the opportunities for investment in Ireland in the food industry. Hosted by the Embassy of Ireland, London, the theme of the event was ‘Accelerate Your Business in Europe’ and the role that Ireland and the Irish food sector can play in driving company growth.

Over 75 key decision makers from UK and other international companies and their advisors attended the event, along with strategic UK experts and leading investment institutions.

This event reflects the very high level of investment activity in the food sector over the past year, and the record number of new food projects supported by Enterprise Ireland. It also reflects the key importance of the UK market for Ireland. Over €87 million was invested by European companies in the Irish agri-food sector in 2013. Almost 50% came from the UK, making it one of Ireland’s most important sources of investment in the sector. These international food companies have a major impact on the Irish economy in terms of direct investment and job creation. In addition, in general they use 70% local products and resources meaning that the positive knock-on effect for the local economy is very significant.

Enterprise Ireland CEO Julie Sinnamon has welcomed the launch of a new generation of EU financial instruments and advisory services to help innovative firms access finance more easily.

The agreement with the European Investment Bank Group was signed by European Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, on behalf of the EU in Greece recently.

Over the next seven years, it is expected that the "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" products will make available more than €24 billion of financing for research and innovation (R&I) by small, medium and large companies and the promoters of research infrastructures. This finance is expected to support up to €48 billion of final R&I investments.

Speaking during a recent visit by the Commissioner to Enterprise Ireland, the State agency leading Ireland’s participation in Horizon 2020, the EU’s €79BN programme for research and innovation Ms Sinnamon said;

“Enterprise Ireland welcomes the introduction of the InnovFin financial instruments and associated advisory services. These instruments will complement existing research and innovation funding sources and will provide much needed additional access to finance for innovative Irish SMEs. We now want the Irish banking sector to embrace these new instruments as they will de-risk lending propositions for Irish companies that want to fund R&D in order to gain a competitive edge. This activity is central to boosting employment and growth in Ireland’s economy”.

"InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" will consist of a range of tailored products – from guarantees for intermediaries that lend to SMEs to direct loans to enterprises - helping support the smallest to the largest R&I projects in the EU and countries associated to Horizon 2020, the new EU research programme for 2014-2020. InnovFin builds on the success of the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility, developed under the seventh EU framework programme for research and technological development (FP7), which helped provide over €11 billion of finance to 114 R&I projects worth more than €30 billion.

Pictured are Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland and Máire Geoghean Quinn, EU Commissioner for Research & Innovation

Eric Risser, TCD and founder of start-up company Artomatix has won the inaugural ‘Roots in Research’ award. This is a new prize of €5,000 presented at the Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneurship Awards in Cork on 12th June 2014.

Eric Risser identified a gap in the animation and digital art industry and developed a Texture Synthesis Based Hybridisation for Images and Geometry technology in response. His software enables digital artists to make art faster, cheaper and better in movies, games and animations. He has since gone on to establish a spin-out company called Artomatix from Trinity College Dublin.

Presenting the award, Gearoid Mooney, Director Research & Innovation, Enterprise Ireland said “Enterprise Ireland wanted to highlight the commercial potential of research funded by the Irish Government so we introduced the Roots in Research Award. We were looking for students who demonstrated an ability to spot the commercial potential of their research project. Eric did much more than that and has gone on to set up a company which is trading as Artomatix”.

Pictured are the Roots of Research Winners Eric Risser and Neal O'Gorman from Artomatix (Trinity College Dublin) with Enterprise Ireland's Gearoid Mooney

Radisens Diagnostics has won a second €1m contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop an innovative blood testing device for use by astronauts on board the International Space Station and on various human spaceflight missions. This builds upon their initial partnership announced back in November 2011.

The European Space Agency has contracted Radisens to extend the blood testing menu on their point-of-care device which is currently in development at their facility at the Rubicon Centre, Cork. This forerunner device could be used on board the International Space Station and on various human spaceflight missions where it is essential to get high-performance, laboratory grade results for myriad health conditions, without fear of biological contamination.

Radisens is one of a growing number of Irish companies which are looking to ESA to support their product and market development strategies. The partnership with ESA is proving to be highly beneficial to Irish companies in supporting technology development, product reliability and performance and in providing a globally recognised reference customer.

Radisens® Diagnostics, a venture-backed diagnostics company which is breaking new ground in the decentralization of routine blood testing from central reference laboratories into physician offices, outpatient clinics, hospital bedsides and other point-of-care settings. With a finger-prick of blood, this multi-mode diagnostic device will return laboratory-grade results within minutes during a patient’s physician visit.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is the intergovernmental organisation that promotes co-operation among European States in space research and technology and their space applications for scientific purposes and for operational space applications systems. Ireland's membership of ESA permits Irish companies and research teams to bid for ESA contract development work in a range of space programmes.

Enterprise Ireland is the Irish body responsible for co-ordinating Ireland’s industrial and research participation in the programmes of ESA. Its role is to assist Irish companies to successfully bid for ESA contracts. Enterprise Ireland provides a source of expertise for Irish companies in developing and executing space strategies, Irish industrial participation is primarily in the engineering, aerospace, software, electronics, optoelectronics and telecommunications sectors.

The level of spin off export sales (including direct ESA contracts) from Irish investment in ESA is estimated at €50m in 2013 and projected to grow substantially as the number of Irish companies securing ESA contract continues to expand, and as existing Irish ESA contractors progress from intensive R&D phase to commercial exploitation phase.

Image: Radisens blood-testing device is trialled by astronauts on board the International Space Station (image courtesy of ESA)

Enterprise Ireland has just published a guide for companies on our nationwide network of Technology Gateways, capable of delivering technology-based solutions for companies in Ireland. Designed to act as the ‘R&D arm’ of companies, the Technology Gateways deliver technology solutions through collaborative projects with the research teams in the Institutes of Technology.

Expertise is available to companies in technology areas such as; applied biotechnology, connected media, biodiagnostics, engineering materials, pharmaceutical and healthcare, mobile services, coatings innovations, embedded systems, polymer technologies, intelligent sensor systems, photonics and wireless solutions.

Enterprise Ireland has invested €23M in 12 Technology Gateways located in 8 Institutes of Technology; Athlone IT, Cork Institute of Technology, Dublin Institute of Technology, IT Tallaght, IT Tralee, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Limerick Institute of Technology and Waterford Institute of Technology.


Download the guide here. 

Knowledge Transfer Ireland, the first business innovation resource of its kind in Europe was launched by Richard Bruton T.D. Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation and Dr. Alison Campbell, Director of KTI on 28th May 2014. Based in Enterprise Ireland, Knowledge Transfer Ireland gives companies access to expertise and knowledge in Irish Higher Education Institutes to grow their business.

Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) – the first resource of its kind in Europe – is the State-funded central technology transfer office, located in Enterprise Ireland and operated collaboratively by Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Universities Association.
The purpose of the resource is to make it easier to commercialise, and ultimately create viable businesses and jobs, from publicly-funded research from all third-level institutes across the country.

The key service offered is a web-portal that enables companies to identify experts, research centres and technology-licensing opportunities to benefit their business including
o A comprehensive overview of the research capabilities of all Irish Universities, Institutes of Technologies and specialist research centres in one place
o Searchable databases of research expertise and talent
o Details of over 160 pre-commercial technologies developed research performing institutions which are available to license
o Access to all patents filed by Ireland’s publicly-funded research institutions

The establishment of KTI advances the Government’s plan to strengthen and standardise the Irish knowledge transfer infrastructure in which it has already invested €30 million through Enterprise Ireland, working in co-operation with the Technology Transfer Offices in Irish Higher Education Institutes. A further €22million, up to end 2016, has been committed by the Government to increase the capacity of the knowledge transfer infrastructure.

For more information visit www.knowledgetransferireland.com

Pictured above Richard Bruton T.D. Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation and Dr. Alison Campbell, Director of KTI.

Dr. Mark Southern, University of Limerick wins Knowledge Transfer Ireland - Research2Business Award

Dr. Mark Southern, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Limerick was presented with the inaugural Knowledge Transfer Ireland Research2Business Award at the launch of Knowledge Transfer Ireland on 28th May 2014.

Dr Southern, a Senior Research Fellow within the Enterprise Research Centre at the University of Limerick and his team are considered one of Ireland’s leading groups in enabling manufacturing change; boosting productivity, output and profit. Mark has received research funding of over €4.6 million of which 23% has been from industry. His group helps manufacturing companies through applying their cutting edge research and expertise to matching companies’ technical issues and challenges. The group are able to provide state-of-the-art solutions in manufacturing measurement, simulation, software and statistical know-how.

Mark has supported a substantial number of research collaborations with companies across a range of different sectors. For example, with companies such as Vistakon (J&J), Stryker, Aerogen, Oglesby & Butler, Ceramix Ireland, Shannon Coil Springs. These collaborations have led to the creation of over 100 new high-end manufacturing jobs in Ireland, in addition to sustaining core employment in these companies and enabling the companies to secure tens of millions of Euro in new export sales.

Seán Sherlock T.D., Minister for Research & Innovation and Dr. Alison Campbell, Director KTI presenting Dr. Mark Southern, UL (centre) with the inaugural Knowledge Transfer Ireland Research2Business Award

Alexandra Milne a student from University of Ulster recently won the Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was named ‘College Entrepreneur of the Year 2014’. This year celebrates the 32nd year of these prestigious awards which are co-sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland, Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys, Intel and Grant Thornton and are open to all third level colleges across the Island of Ireland. The awards were presented by Tom Hayes, Head of Micro Enterprises and Small Business at Enterprise Ireland and Doug Howlett, from Munster Rugby.

The Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards are part of a major drive aimed at tapping into the potential for students and young people to turn their entrepreneurial ideas into commercial businesses. This is Ireland’s largest and longest established third-level student enterprise competition.

The winning team is Little Deli, Alexandra Milne is a student at University of Ulster and beat off stiff competition with her project. The Little Deli is a solution that lets customers easily and efficiently pre-order and pre-pay for their lunch from local delis and cafes, at their own convenience. By ordering through the App, customers can skip the queue and save their valuable time letting them order from anywhere at any time. By using the app, it enables delis to prepare orders earlier, making their rush hour more efficient, productive and profitable. With Little Deli, both delis and customers win.

The Student Entrepreneur Awards are aimed at encouraging students into business as a career option and this year attracted submissions from over 450 third level students from colleges across Ireland. The substantial prize fund includes €30,000 in cash prizes and €30,000 in consultancy fees which are available for winners to help them make a serious start at making their idea a commercial reality. In addition to winning the top prize, the winning team will also receive mentoring from Enterprise Ireland/Invest NI to develop the commercial viability of their overall concept.

High Achieving Merit Awards were provided by sponsors Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys and Grant Thornton and Intel.

The Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys High Achieving Merit Award of 5,000 Euro went to Digital Perception, project from UCD. Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys are also providing intellectual property consultancy and protection for all the finalists and they will also receive a Tablet from Intel.

The Grant Thornton High Achieving Merit Award of 5,000 Euro, went to AmputAid from UCC. Grant Thornton will also provide business plan development advice to the finalists and they will also receive a Tablet from Intel.

Intel awarded their High Achieving Merit award of a tablet to Motus from University of Limerick. Intel will also provide mentoring for the students to enter the Intel Challenge Europe Awards 2014.

Finally merits were also given to all remaining finalists and a new Enterprise Ireland Institute Award of €2,000 was awarded to TCD for their outstanding encouragement and standard of applications submitted to the competition.

For more information on the Student Entrepreneur Awards visit; www.studententrepreneurawards.ie<http://www.studententrepreneurawards.ie/>

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, T.D., recently attended the Education in Ireland International Student Ambassador Awards Ceremony which took place in Farmleigh. This event honoured the Student Ambassadors for their contribution in supporting the work of Enterprise Ireland in attracting international students to study in this country. The Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn T.D. was also present and presented the Student Ambassadors with Certificates of Recognition. Also honoured at this ceremony were the HEA Government of Ireland Scholars, on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills.

The Student Ambassador programme, managed by Education in Ireland, is aimed at attracting top students from priority markets to study in Ireland and is part of a Government led International Scholarship Scheme. This programme is only in its third year and has already more than doubled its size. This year the programme included almost 50 international students from ten countries including USA, India, Canada, China, Brazil, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia representing 23 higher education institutions across Ireland. This programme is another key part of Ireland’s promotional efforts to raise awareness of Ireland as a centre of international education.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. recently announced that Lightstone Ventures is partnering with Enterprise Ireland and the NPRF to establish a $172million venture capital fund with offices in Ireland that will invest in innovative Irish companies.

This is the third investment by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland under the Innovation Fund Ireland programme. Lightstone Ventures is a leading US venture capital fund that has recently raised a fund of $172million. Enterprise Ireland has invested €20million in the fund alongside a commitment of €10million from the National Pensions Reserve Fund.

This announcement will result in new funding being available for innovative companies in the Life Sciences sector in Ireland to support company development and job creation.

Lightstone Ventures closed its first Irish-based deal, FIRE1, in December 2013. FIRE1 is a new company launched in conjunction with The Foundry, a premier medical device incubator. The Series A investment round in the company was co-led by Lightstone Ventures and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Global medical device leader Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) also invested in the company. The board of the company is in the process of identifying a number of key hires to drive the company forward.

"Lightstone Ventures is pleased to announce the opening of its Dublin office", noted Lightstone Partner Jason Lettmann who will relocate to Dublin this summer to lead this Irish initiative. "As Europe's importance in the development and commercialization of breakthrough medical technologies continues to grow, Lightstone Ventures believes it is essential to establish a local European presence. Dublin's access to talent, innovation, and world class research coupled with a fair and balanced regulatory approach make it an ideal location for such a hub".

Pictured l-r Paul Carty, Chairman, NPRF Commission; Jason Lettmann, Partner, Lightstone Venture Partners; Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland; Mike Carusi, General Partner, Lightstone Venture Partners; Richard Bruton, TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton were in Cork recently to announce the creation of 350 new jobs at Voxpro, Ireland’s largest exporter of multilingual business process outsourcing.

Voxpro is actively recruiting multilingual, technical positions that will see its workforce increase from 500 to 850 by the end of 2014. The newly created positions will support the company’s international growth strategy. International business currently represents more than 80% of the company’s overall turnover. The new job creation is being supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

Speaking at the expansion announcement, CEO Dan Kiely said “Today is a very significant day for Voxpro. When my wife Linda and I founded the company 15 years ago, we had a team of six people. Today, we are Ireland’s leading exporter of Business Process Outsourcing, operating in 12 languages to over 100 indigenous and global organisations and we continue to expand at a rapid pace. We currently employ 500 people across our five sites. Today’s announcement will see this figure increase by 350 people which puts us on track to over-deliver on our commitment to employ 1,000 people internationally by the end of 2015. As our business expands, we have a very clear focus on attracting international business partners and these new highly skilled, technical roles will support our endeavours to secure global clients and become their growth partner in Europe.”

Voxpro is an Irish award-winning company which operates from three purpose-built facilities in Cork, a newly opened office in Dublin and an international office in San-Francisco. The company delivers customer contact solutions on behalf of more than 100 companies and organisations worldwide including Google, Nest and Travelzoo, in addition to multinational corporations and leading international blue chip companies. Voxpro is best described as the unseen, but critical, link connecting businesses to their clients on a 24-7, 365 days a year basis.

Pictured left to right:  Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; Dan Kiely, CEO, Voxpro; Linda Kiely, Founder/Director, Voxpro and An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD.

Contracts worth a total of $14million and the creation of 50 jobs in Ireland were among the results of the two-day Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Texas.
The successful announcement came at the end of the two-day programme to Houston and Austin, during which Minister Bruton along with Enterprise Ireland and 27 Irish companies targeted opportunities in the rapidly-growing oil and gas sector.
Among the deals announced over the course of the trade mission were:

• A deal won by Irish underwater technology company Cathx Ocean to supply equipment to enable a major US underwater vehicle manufacturer to ‘see clearly’ during underwater engineering operations, particularly around oil rigs and pipelines, which will help create 50 jobs in Kildare over the next two years.
• A $4million dollar contract won by Louth manufacturing company Suretank Engineering with Hoover Container Solutions Inc, for the supply of chemical transport tanks and containers for the safe transfer of chemicals and equipment for oil drilling to offshore deepwater rigs.
• A contract won by GTSS, the maritime training arm of global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC and the National Maritime College of Ireland, to train Chevron Shipping’s junior officer corps in Cork. As a result of the deal, over the course of four years, more than 450 officers from around the world will receive maritime training through GTSS at the state-of-the-art National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) facility in Cork.
• A $600,000 contract won by Monaghan manufacturing company Combilift, for the supply of multidirectional forklifts to TimkenSteel Corporation in Houston, a major US company specialising in deep precision hole making and finishing for the oil and gas sector.
• Other contracts with major US energy companies which cannot be disclosed for commercial reasons.

Pictured left to right: Aidan Cronin, Consul General of Ireland - Chicago, Governor Rick Perry, Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, Orla Battersby, Regional Director, North America – Enterprise Ireland, Donovan Miller, Manager – Austin Office, Enterprise Ireland.

Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello, TD, recently led 22 Irish companies in a major drive to boost international linkages and increase Irish exports to Qatar and Oman.

The three-day trade mission to Qatar and Oman focused on key sectors in these markets where Irish companies have particularly strong capabilities – higher education, telecommunications, life sciences, construction and engineering, and water/waste water. This was the first Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Oman.

Minister Costello attended a series of high level business engagements supporting the Irish companies’ drive in these markets. He also had a number of political engagements where bilateral and other issues of relevance, including human rights, were raised, as well as meetings with representatives of the Irish business community.

In line with Enterprise Ireland’s strategy, the trade mission provides a key foundation on which to strengthen economic, political and cultural links with Qatar and Oman. This mission, which follows a major trade mission led by an Taoiseach to the Gulf region in January, facilitated practical relationship building for Enterprise Ireland client companies with their current and prospective counterparts in the region, as well as raising the profile of Ireland at the highest levels of Government in the two countries.

The trade mission was highly successful, among the deals secured over the course of the mission was the signing of an MOU between Irish company Klondike Technologies and Qatar's Dyarco International Group.

Minister for Research and Innovation, Séan Sherlock TD, lead a three-day Enterprise Ireland trade mission to develop business links and increase Irish exports in Switzerland. The trade mission involved 65 Irish companies across a range of sectors, with the key focus on Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Engineering, Construction, ICT and Financial Services.

The trade mission included the main business cities of Geneva, Basel and Zurich, where Minister Sherlock had a series of high level business engagements supporting the Irish companies’ drive to increase exports in this market. The intense schedule also incorporated expert speaker seminars, Swiss-Irish business networking events, meetings with major Swiss corporations and research institutions and meetings with Irish and Swiss companies.

Over 200 Irish owned companies are already successfully doing business in Switzerland offering a wealth of innovative products and services to the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, ICT, Construction, Engineering and NGO sectors. Growth figures for exports from Irish indigenous companies are particularly impressive, with over 50% growth in their exports to Switzerland in the last three years.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, recently launched a new €500,000 Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund targeted at stimulating new start-up business activity for graduates. This fund will provide for up to €50,000 in support for each successful applicant. The fund will open for applications on Wednesday 9th July and closes at 3pm on Wednesday 23rd July 2014. Applicants must have graduated with a FETAC NFQ level 8 qualification in the last 3 years.

Young entrepreneurs and third level students are a seed bed for future business start-ups and as such they should be part of Ireland getting back on its feet, and the drive to stimulate more micro and small business activity.

Today’s announcement forms part of a broader strategy, laid out in the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, aimed at encouraging a higher level of entrepreneurship and start-ups. In recent weeks the Government announced a new county-based competition to find Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, with a total of €2million available to invest in winning businesses.

This €500,000 Competitive Start Fund for graduates will help start up and early stage companies to get off the ground and launch new products and services in the international marketplace. The priority of the Fund is to provide graduates with the critical early stage funding for the key commercial and technical milestones that will ensure delivery of their product or service, and help them get their project to a key funding milestone.

Applications are welcome from Manufacturing & Internationally Traded Services sector to start up businesses involved in activities such as Internet, Games, Apps, Mobile, SaaS, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Lifesciences, Food, Cleantech and Industrial Products.

Full details of the Fund, including the Application Form, are available here.