Collaboration between industry and publicly funded researchers led to 39 new products and services going to market in 2020, according to Knowledge Transfer Ireland.

KTI’s annual knowledge transfer survey reports a 39% increase in engagements with public research to 3,680 instances ,and nine spinout company acquisitions with a total value of €7.9m.

The survey is an annual scorecard for Ireland’s knowledge transfer community and assesses the status of collaboration between industry and publicly funded research.

Spinout companies, formed from Irish universities, Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and other publicly funded research bodies, also grew in 2020, with 30 new spinouts formed.

There are now 128 active spinouts three or more years in existence, and these employ 1,110 people. 

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KTI director Alison Campbell (pictured) commented: “Events of the last 18 months have shown how vital an engaged and proactive knowledge transfer community is. With significant increases in live collaboration projects, new products and services launched, and new jobs in spinout companies, it is clear that Irish enterprise recognises the very real part that working with the third level on R&D can play in helping them innovate their business for the future.

“The continued engagement of the SME sector is particularly notable, as we know that those who collaborate with the third level on R&D are proven to be more competitive than those who don’t.”

Knowledge Transfer Ireland provides a range of tools to support the engagement process between industry and organisations performing research in Ireland. 

Resources such as the KTI Find Funding Tool, Research Map of Ireland, Research Centre Directory and Directory of Researchers can help find and connect with the right research partner in Ireland and identify the most relevant financial support that might be available, the organisation says.