FORMER INTEL chairman Craig Barrett is leading a delegation of senior executives to Ireland early this week to strengthen “developmental ties” between Ireland and Silicon Valley.
A mentorship programme which offers one-year’s experience at a US technology corporation or venture capital firm will be announced during the three-day visit. The visit is hosted by the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), of which Dr Barrett is chair, along with partners NUI Galway (NUIG), University of Limerick (UL) and Shannon Development.
Dr Barrett held a private dinner yesterday with European commissioner for research and innovation Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and NUIG president Dr James J Browne. He will participate in two conferences: Education for Innovation at NUIG tomorrow; and Innovation Island and the Global Irish at UL on Wednesday.
Dr Barrett urged Ireland to “focus on enlarging its indigenous high-tech sector to drive economic recovery”.
“There is significant opportunity for growth driven by these firms,” he said. “Ireland and the US are in similar circumstances – if we don’t take advantage of our skilled workforces and entrepreneurial spirit we will lose out to emerging economies.
“We are in Ireland this week to support Irish tech companies who have the ambition to grow and succeed, and the mentorship programme is one way of doing this.”
The mentorship programme is designed to enable participants to “return to Ireland with the skills and experience necessary to start businesses and to foster the growth and development of tomorrow’s executives in their native communities”.
The ITLG says that “high-performing applicants” will be drawn from a wide range of academic disciplines, including computer science, business and entrepreneurship, engineering and software development. They “will have demonstrated their strength as leaders and innovators in entrepreneurship and technology management”.
ITLG president and founder John Hartnett said students would get coaching from experienced executives at the Irish Innovation Centre in San Jose and engage with Irish start-up companies in residence at the centre as part of the mentorship programme.
Welcoming ITLG and Dr Barrett to NUIG, university president Dr Browne said the college was delighted to work with its alliance partner, UL, and Shannon Development to support the visit.
“Our economic future depends on Ireland’s ability to compete in the global smart economy,” Dr Browne said.
UL president Prof Don Barry said his university welcomed “this opportunity to uncover the emerging technological opportunities we have in Ireland and to nurture those that have true potential and support them in achieving success”.
Twelve Irish start-up companies have been chosen to meet Silicon Valley venture capital executives, including Amartus, Equiendo, ImeeGolf, InishTech, InteleSENS, MCOR Technologies, Movidius, RedZinc, ResourceKraft, Suntico and Weedle.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O’Keeffe and Dr Barrett will address a gala dinner on Wednesday hosted by ITLG and its partners at Dromoland Castle, Co Clare. University innovation awards will be presented on the night.
The three award finalists are LearnOpt, a UL software services company; Miravex, a medical device company for skin diagnostics from Trinity College Dublin; and ThinkSmart, a software solutions company focused on the renewable energy sector from UCC.
The winning company will receive an invitation to travel to the annual Irish Technology Leaders Silicon Valley Awards next March.