What does DCU have to offer Irish Businesses

Open Innovation is thriving at DCU, Ireland's University of Enterprise, which aims to make it as easy as possible for companies to do business with the university.  A fast track licensing scheme offers companies access to a range of technologies and the new Cleantech Innovation Campus will be a location of choice for cleantech start-ups, SMEs and larger companies.

Since opening in 2001, Invent DCU, the university’s enterprise and innovation centre has become known as one of Ireland's most progressive technology transfer centres. The Centre’s primary mission is to work with companies and university researchers to translate new ideas and innovations into commercial reality. Even more important strategically is DCU's ambition to work with companies at the earliest possible opportunity to identify the key challenges they face and to partner to find solutions.  A critical element of Invent’s operation is to make it as fast and easy as possible to conclude legal and other partnership agreements. 

Licence Express Scheme
Launched earlier this year, DCU’s innovative Licence Express fast track licensing scheme offers companies access to a range of technologies. These are still at the developmental stage but need further industrial involvement and investment to ensure that their continued development is aligned with commercial needs. Licences to the Licence Express technologies are offered to companies that are not currently involved in collaborative research programmes on generous terms with no royalties payable for four years and only then at a rate of 1% annually.  The idea is to incentivise companies to invest further in medium term innovations with no up-front investment cost and no long drawn out legal negotiations.  The only requirement to avail of one of these licences is a credible business plan. Above all, the legally binding licence agreement is a simple two page document, which is a first for any Irish university.

Invent DCU Innovation & Enterprise Centre
The range of activities managed by Invent DCU includes research commercialisation, licensing, innovation partnerships and spin-out companies. There is high demand from technology start-up companies to locate near an enterprising university and the Invent DCU Innovation & Enterprise Centre offers excellent facilities and a range of business support services to young technology companies. To date, the team at Invent has assisted over 150 start-ups to develop new products and services targeted at the international marketplace.

Cleantech Innovation Campus
The university's capacity to work on a larger scale with industry has now been enhanced by the opening of DCU's Cleantech Innovation Campus close to the main campus in Glasnevin. The Campus has been established as a new national centre for innovation in the Cleantech sector, one of the fastest growing areas of economic activity and worth more than 5 trillion Euro annually. It will be a location of choice for cleantech start-ups, SMEs and larger companies, expected to drive significant green economy growth in the greater Dublin region. The Cleantech Innovation Campus will leverage the capabilities of DCU teaching and research in renewable energy, sustainability, green finance, ICT, big data/smart cities and sensor technology among others. The campus is steeped in a rich scientific innovation and industrial heritage having started life as the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards in 1946. DCU will drive its regeneration as a facility aimed at developing a cluster of next generation innovative companies that are focussed on clean technologies, goods and services that address local and global needs. 

Accelerating Innovation
DCU continues to work closely with Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council as well as other bodies such as IDA and ‘The Green Way’ Initiative to ensure that Irish and international firms can accelerate their innovation efforts in partnership with DCU  by leveraging significant national incentives for companies to develop new products and processes.

Contact Details
For further information on opportunities to collaborate and innovate with DCU please contact:

Richard Stokes - Director of Innovation DCU
richard.stokes@dcu.ie
www.dcu.ie/invent

Ronan Furlong - Executive Director Innovation Campus
ronan.furlong@dcu.ie
www.dcu.ie/innovationcampus

Full article appears in BusinessPlus Nov/Dec 2013 Issue (PDF)