Two new public-private partnerships will invest more than €40 million in advanced technology projects and start-up companies to encourage innovation, it was announced yesterday.
The NovaUCD Technology Transfer Centre at University College Dublin, which was opened by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, will nurture new technology and intensive business enterprises.
NovaUCD will have more than 40 incubation units and provide entrepreneurs with the support and knowledge to take their ideas from proof of principle to commercial success.
The centre already has several client companies which include: Neosera Systems, which develops processors for the microelectronics sector; and GoldStack, a software development company.
The first phase of the project has been financed through a public-private partnership that includes AIB, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, Xilinx and UCD.
About 75 per cent of the monies for the project was supplied by the private sector.
Meanwhile, the cross-border trade development body InterTrade Ireland has expanded its existing Fusion project, which develops and supports three-way partnerships between companies with specific technology needs, research centres with specialist expertise and high-calibre science and technology graduates.
InterTradeIreland will provide direct support worth €13.6 million and leverage an extra €18.5 million from participating businesses.
The scheme aims to create 130 partnerships over the next four years and is available to small and large businesses in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
