Enterprise Ireland has launched two new programmes with funding of over €63m focused on supporting Irish innovators and research.
The programmes are co-funded by the government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which aims to promote economic, social and territorial cohesion across all European regions.
KT Boost
KT Boost is a new four-year, €33m knowledge transfer funding programme for Irish universities and technological universities.
Its objective is to support an increase in research commercialisation outcomes and to develop consistent practices across the knowledge transfer sector.
In Association with
KT Boost will be managed by Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), the national office responsible for making the process of engaging with public research and research commercialisation more simple and straightforward.
KTI helps businesses to benefit from access to Irish expertise and technology by making it easier to connect and engage with the research base in Ireland.
KT Boost will focus on bolstering capacity and capability within Innovation Offices at Higher Education Institutions so as to further support knowledge transfer activities, outputs and performance.
Innovators’ Initiative
The Innovators’ Initiative is a new €30m national initiative with the objective of developing a series of immersive, needs-led innovation training programmes.
The aim is to create cohorts of highly skilled innovators who can identify unmet market needs within specific sectors of growth.
The programmes will be hosted in third level institutions or within a consortia of Research Performing Organisations.
Successfully awarded programmes will each focus on a specific sector of national or regional importance, and will articulate the industrial strength and research capability of the region in which the programme is to be based.
It is envisaged that this training will attract high calibre individuals and inter-disciplinary teams who will be supported to generate new product and process ideas, new IP and hopefully start-ups.
On completion of a programme, participants can return to their sectors with the accrued benefits of their new skills and training, or can form new start-up teams.
Enterprise minister Simon Coveney stated: “These two new funding programmes signal a major vote of confidence for both innovation and research in Ireland.
“I very much welcome that the funding programmes will be targeted both nationally and regionally at sectors and organisations, where growth will be identified and subsequently supported and generated.”
