The Technology Transfer Strengthening Initiative (TTSI), a program introduced by enterprise support agency Enterprise Ireland and managed by Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), has received a €34.5m ($37m) boost from Enterprise Ireland.
The initiative, launched in 2007, aims to bolster research commercialisation in the country and deepen the engagement between public research institutions and industry.
The fresh funding will be supplied over the next five years as part of the program’s third phase that will help tech transfer offices become more sustainable and ensure the continued success of TTSI.
The money is allocated by KTI to tech transfer offices across eight regional consortia, which make up a total of 26 research organisations including universities, institutes of technology and state-owned research agencies.
To date, TTSI has led to the creation of 31 spinouts, the signing of 748 research agreements and the inking of 206 licensing deals.
Alison Campbell, director of KTI said; “I am very pleased that the TTSI program has been approved for a further five years. Ireland has made tremendous strides in the area of knowledge transfer and technology transfer and the TTSI funding to date has been instrumental in that success.
“This round of funding will build on this success and help deliver stronger resources in the field. With support now in place until 2021, I am confident we can further develop the process of research commercialisation and work with our partners in industry to make it as simple and accessible as possible.”
Gearoid Mooney, divisional manager for research and innovation at Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland’s annual client survey shows that companies that collaborate with the Irish research system on market led projects have more than double the sales and exports than those that don’t.
“Helping companies advance through research and innovation is fundamental to the support provided by Enterprise Ireland and Knowledge Transfer Ireland has been tasked with making it simple for such companies to engage and benefit from state funded research.
“Investing in the knowledge transfer infrastructure through technology transfer offices around the country is vital to progressing the commercialisation of research, job creation and economic prosperity.”
