Research & Innovation

University College Dublin, through NovaUCD and ConsultUCD, has been shortlisted for five (5) Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) Impact Awards 2019. The annual KTI Impact Awards recognise significant achievements in knowledge transfer and the commercialisation of research carried out in Irish Higher Education Institutions and publicly funded research organisations nationwide.

In particular the 5 Award categories pay tribute to the work of those within Ireland’s Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) around the country who provide a vital link between industry and the academic research.

UCD and Glanbia have been shortlisted for the Collaborative Research Impact Award for the AgriChemWhey project. This €22 million Horizon 2020 funded project, led by Glanbia in collaboration with UCD, through Professor Kevin O’Connor, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, is focused on the transformation of dairy waste products into high-value, bio-based products for growing global markets including biodegradable plastics, bio-based fertilisers and minerals for human nutrition.

UCD and Atlantic Therapeutics have been shortlisted for the Licence2Market Impact Award. Atlantic Therapeutics, headquartered in Galway, develops professional and consumer medical devices to treat all types of incontinence and other associated disorders by modulating nerves of the pelvic floor thus strengthening the muscles.

Last year the company received FDA approval for its INNOVO therapy device, an externally worn electrical muscle stimulator, the first ever transcutaneous electrical stimulator cleared as a safe, clinically effective and non-invasive product to treat stress urinary incontinence. The INNOVO technology, comprising a patent application, now granted, and associated know-how was developed in collaboration with UCD through Professor Brian Caulfield, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, and subsequently licensed to the company.

Equal1 Labs, headquartered at NovaUCD with a base in the US, has been shortlisted for the Spin-out Company Award. Equal1 Labs is the world’s first quantum computing hardware start-up developing a new type of quantum computer based on the latest advances in Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology.

The company was founded by Professor R. Bogdan Staszewski with US-based co-founders, Dr Dirk Leipold, Dr George Maxim and Mike Asker, as a spin-out from the UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.  Equal1 Labs has received investment through the Atlantic Bridge University Bridge Fund to support the fabrication and testing of the company’s first quantum processor chips.

ConsultUCD and Toyota Ireland have been shortlisted for the Consultancy Impact Award for a study carried out by 4 UCD academics on Toyota’s hybrid powertrain system. The study, commissioned by Toyota Ireland through ConsultUCD, the University’s managed consultancy service, revealed that in typical Irish commuting conditions, Toyota’s hybrid powertrain system drives in zero emissions mode (ZEV) for significantly more than half (62%) of the time and over 40% of the distance covered.

The study was authored by Professor Robert Shorten and Assistant Professor Giovanni Russo, UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Associate Professor Francesco Pilla, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Planning and Associate Professor David Timoney, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

Simon Factor, NovaUCD’s Senior Manager for New Ventures, has been shortlisted for the Knowledge Transfer Achiever of the Year Award.

Tom Flanagan (pictured), UCD Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation, said: “I am delighted that UCD has been shortlisted in each of the five 2019 KTI Impact Award categories. This indicates the strength, breadth and quality of the knowledge transfer and consultancy activities being undertaken by UCD researchers with the guidance and support of the NovaUCD technology transfer and ConsultUCD teams. The shortlist also highlights the range of companies that we are collaborating with as part of our commercialisation and consultancy activities including; Atlantic Therapeutics, Glanbia, Toyota Ireland and also the venture capital firm Atlantic Bridge.”

Dr Alison Campbell, Director, KTI, said, “This is the 4th year that we have held the KTI Impact Awards, and each year it’s an opportunity to showcase the best practice knowledge transfer that is taking place in Ireland. As Chair of the Judging Panel, I would like to congratulate the shortlisted entries and what they have achieved. I would also like to recognise the work that takes place in TTOs all around the country. The calibre of shortlisted entries we see this year is testament to the work that these offices do.”

Entries for the KTI Impact Awards 2019 were evaluated by a panel of international experts that included; Julie Byrne, Head of Collaborations at Nokia Bell Labs;  Richie Paul, VP Intellectual Property Operations, Alkermes Pharma Ireland Ltd; Maxine Ficarra, CEO, PraxisAuril; Holly Wales Meadows, Director, US knowledge transfer association AUTM; Brendan Cremen, former Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation at UCD; and Assistant Director for Impact and Partnerships at the Irish Research Council, Eavan O’Brien.

Submissions were judged according to criteria such as the level of the impact delivered; the clarity and succinctness of the entry; the persuasiveness of the submission in outlining what it has achieved and why it is relevant to the category at hand; and the role that the local technology transfer office played in the activity.

Winners of the 2019 KTI Impact Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony which will be held on 21 November in The Alex Hotel, Dublin 2. The MC for the event will be print and radio journalist, Richard Curran, with guest speaker, technology evangelist Clare Dillon.

The full 2019 KTI Impact Awards shortlist is available via https://www.knowledgetransferireland.com/Events/KTI-Impact-Awards/KTI-Impact-Awards-2019/