Education Agreement Brings 4,000 Brazilian Undergrads to Ireland
Education agreement to bring 4,000 Brazilian undergrads to Ireland over next four years Pictured: Mark Ferguson, director general, Science Foundation Ireland; Glaucius Oliveira, President of CNPq, Brazil; Minister Joe Costello; Marina Donohoe; and President Michael D Higgins (Photo: © Túlio Vidal/Enterprise Ireland) An education and research agreement that will see 4,000 Brazilian undergraduates study in Ireland over the next four years was signed today during Enterprise Ireland’s trade mission to Brazil . The agreement is part of Brazil’s Science Without Borders programme – a government scholarship programme that aims to send 100,000 of the country’s students on undergraduate and PhD courses to study in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and creative industries at top universities around the world. It builds on…
Read MoreWomen’s role in tech sector changing — CWIT
Attitudes towards women in technology are changing rapidly and female participation continues to increase in this sector in Ireland, a briefing heard today. The Connecting Women in Technology (CWIT) breakfast briefing took place at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, involving more than 200 women working in the technology sector. Set up in 2009, CWIT is a collaborative initiative of senior women from Ernst & Young, HP, Microsoft, Accenture, Google, Facebook, Dell and IBM which aims to attract more women to the sector. Marie Treacy, partner at Ernst & Young hosted the event and guest speakers included Triona Campbell, beActive International and Regina Moran, Fijitsu Ireland. “The recent establishment by Enterprise…
Read MoreUCC Spin-Out Keelvar Raises €750,000 for Expansion
Cork-based Keelvar Systems has secured €750,000 in a funding round led by ACT Venture Capital and with investment from Enterprise Equity and Enterprise Ireland. The UCC spin-out said the funding would be used to increase staff numbers to 18 and expand the company’s innovative procurement optimization service for large-scale government tenders and multinational companies. The investment was made from seed funds supported by AIB, with lead investor ACT sourcing its share from its AIB Start-Up Accelerator Fund and Enterprise Equity investing from the AIB Seed Capital Fund. “Keelvar is a company which has spun out of Government-supported university research, has now obtained funding from the markets, will shortly have created…
Read MoreBill Cullen’s car dealerships go into receivership
Ulster Bank has appointed a receiver to Glencullen Holdings, which operates the two car dealerships Bill Cullen had left, in Swords and Liffey Valley in Dublin. Reported to owe the bank around €12m, the two dealerships employ 45 people and Cullen said they had dropped 70pc in value over the past two years. Falling car sales and other factors led to the end of the road for Cullen, who has been in the motor trade for 55 years and went on to be the front man for the TV3 series ‘The Apprentice’. Cullen lost the Renault dealership last August, having held the national franchise for the French carmaker from 1986…
Read MoreUK digital adspend up 12.6pc in H1 to record high of £2.59bn
UK digital ad spend increased by 12.6pc to a record six-month high of £2.59bn in the first half of 2012, according to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB) advertising expenditure report, conducted by PwC. Boosted by an increase in video and banners in social media, display advertising across the internet and mobile grew by 10.6pc year-on-year to £590.9m and accounted for 23pc share of digital ad spend. Digital video advertising increased 43pc to £69.8m and accounted for 12pc of online and mobile display in the first six months of 2012. Banners in social media environments increased 36pc to £134.2m and represented 23pc of display ad spend. The IAB said…
Read MoreUnilever logistics project aims to slash its European truck distances
Unilever has announced details today of a new logistics project designed to reduce the distance travelled by its trucks around Europe by 200 million kilometres annually by the end of 2014. The project, which is being part-funded by the EU through the Marco Polo programme, aims to reduce around 450,000 vehicle kilometres from Irish roads. Under an agreement signed with the European Commission, a new network of transport hubs will be established across Europe and managed by Unilever’s existing operations centre in Katowice, Poland. According to Unilever, the project will use cutting edge technology to maximise the load efficiency of the trucks in use. The project will see Katowice logistics…
Read MoreAn exporter’s guide to Brazil as trade mission starts
Exporter’s Guide to the Brazilian Market: Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission In light of the Enterprise Ireland Minister-led trade mission to Brazil starting today, Clear Currency provides an exporter’s guide to the market. Brazil’s Growing Economy and Resilience The Brazilian economy is now sixth largest in the world and showed a solid performance during the 2008 financial crisis. Its strong and early recovery, including 2010 growth of 7.5pc, have contributed to the country’s transition from a regional to a global power. GDP growth is forecast to be 1.9pc in 2012 and 4pc in 2013. Managing Currency Appreciation and Inflation Concerns regarding global economic conditions drove the central bank to reduce interest…
Read MoreFormer Anglo executives sent forward for trial
Former Anglo Irish Bank executives Seán FitzPatrick, Willie McAteer and Pat Whelan were today sent forward for trial at the Circuit Criminal Court on charges of providing unlawful financial assistance to 16 individuals in July 2008. The former chairman, finance director and managing director were served the books of evidence during the hearing at the Criminal Courts of Justice. They were charged, indicted and released on bail last July following a three-and-a-half year investigation by detectives from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation into alleged financial irregularities at Anglo Irish Bank. The three were today remanded on continuing bail to appear again at the next sitting of the Circuit Criminal…
Read MoreWeb Summit by Night to take over four Dublin bars
The Web Summit has launched Web Summit by Night, which will see attendees of the two-day tech event take over four bars on Dame Lane in Dublin 2 on the evening of Wednesday, 17 October. In association with partner Dyn, Web Summit by Night will feature four Dublin pubs opening their doors and providing free comedy, music and drinks to the attendees from across Europe. The Mercantile, Sweeney’s, SpeakEasy and The Stag’s Head will host a mixture of music, comedy and entertainment from a variety of acts from around the world including Quiet Life, Liam MacDougal, Blah’gards, White Collar Boy and The Gorgeous Colours. Entrance will be free to all…
Read MoreFrom the outside in: Bringing external input into the innovation process
Bringing external input into the innovation process is crucial for any business that wants to stay on top of its game, according to author and strategic advisor Stefan Lindegaard. Whether it’s labelled open innovation, crowd-sourcing or co-creation, bringing some kind of external input into the innovation process is vital for organisations that aspire to be in leadership positions in their sectors. So says Copenhagen-based author and strategic advisor Stefan Lindegaard, an expert in open innovation, intrapreneurship and identifying and developing those who drive innovation. According to Lindegaard, companies are learning that they must embrace this paradigm shift in the innovation process to keep up with the competition. Those that are…
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