A total of 14 Ireland-based research teams will receive help to take their intellectual property work towards the commercial market.
NDRC, an Ireland-based digital accelerator firm founded by five higher education institutions, has accepted 14 research teams onto the third cohort of its Pre-Commercialisation Programme.
The initiative is supported by enterprise support agency Enterprise Ireland and research body Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). It aims to equip researchers with the capacity to secure funding as they prepare to take their intellectual work into the commercial domain.
The fourteen institutions to have sent participants to the program included two SFI research centres – Irish Photonic Integration Centre and Connect Centre – as well as Dublin Institute of Technology, Waterford Institute of Technology and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
University of Limerick, Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University have also sent participants.
Participating teams will spend five months gaining expertise with a view of developing their business skills, ability to commercialise deep research and connections within the technological, entrepreneurial and business communities.
NDRC was founded by University College Dublin, Dublin City University, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology, National College of Art & Design and Trinity College Dublin in 2007 to help grow digital-focused businesses.
Recipients of NDRC support raised a total of $162.6m in funding in 2016.
Ben Hurley, chief executive of NDRC, said: “NDRC is delighted to welcome these teams onto our pre-commercialisation program. With universities and institutes involved from Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Kildare, this is a program with national reach.
“We are particularly pleased to welcome four female-led teams on this year’s cohort.”
