DIT Students to Represent Ireland at Global Competition in Hong Kong
Four product design students from Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) are to represent Ireland in a global business competition in Hong Kong. They are heading 30 other teams from 16 countries in the “Global Student Challenge” competition, which includes students from India, China, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, the US, and the UK. The DIT students were selected on the basis of their business plan for an image processing unit called ‘Strata Vision,’ used in clean rooms when factory staff is wearing protective clothing. The unit, linked to scanning devices and external servers, can help prevent contamination within the pharmaceutical, medical device, semiconductor, and food manufacturing industries. By analyzing images of the user during the gowning process,…
Read MoreDigital Marketing Institute appoints Ken Fitzpatrick as CEO
Ken Fitzpatrick, the former CEO of the Saon Group and of Simply Zesty, has been appointed CEO of the Digital Marketing Institute. Fitzpatrick will take over the running of the company from current CEO Ian Dodson and managing director Anthony Quigley and will be responsible for leading the company’s “ongoing international expansion and establishing its programmes as the global standard for digital marketing education.” His day-to-day role will involve all areas of the company, from the operational side through to business development. Most recently Fitzpatrick oversaw the sale of Simply Zesty to UTV Media. Before that, he was group CEO of Denis O’Brien and Leslie Buckley-owned online recruitment company Saongroup.com…
Read MoreSolveMyLegal.com aims to help people to ‘shop around’ for solicitors
A team of legal, accounting and IT professionals has come up with a new free online service, SolveMyLegal.com, designed to help consumers find the most suitable solicitor to meet their legal needs. Founder and CEO of the project David Reilly is a practising solicitor with over 15 years’ experience working in the UK and Ireland. He is now running his own commercial law practice, Reilly & Co in Clonakilty in West Cork. “Shopping around for the best solicitor at the best price is something that is becoming more the norm, but it is difficult and time consuming,” he said. “With our unique service we believe we can drastically improve consumers’…
Read MoreThe Gathering Ireland being ‘embraced by the Irish people’ – survey
The Gathering Ireland 2013 has been embraced by the Irish people, according to new data from an Omnibus survey conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes. The study found that The Gathering has earned strong support amongst the Irish public with four in five of those surveyed (77pc) saying it a worthwhile investment. Three out of 4 (75pc) say that the Government-backed initiative will be successful in attracting tourists to Ireland. The Omnibus survey was carried out between 18th and 30 April by independent market researchers Ipsos. Public awareness levels of The Gathering are very high with 83pc of those surveyed saying they are aware of the project. There is also strong…
Read MoreOpen to Trade? Ireland Ranked Eighth in World
Ireland ranked eighth in world in terms of openness to tradeIan Talbot Ireland has been ranked eighth out of 75 countries worldwide in terms of its openness to trade, according to the latest Open Markets Index issued by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). It is placed fifth in Europe behind Luxembourg, Belgium, Malta and the Netherlands. “As a small island, an open economy is vital to allow for access to larger markets and free movement of capital for investment. Ireland’s ranking is positive news given the importance of foreign direct investment and international trade for our economic wellbeing and particularly to support employment and to create the growth so…
Read MoreInternational gathering in Dublin focuses on need for evidence-based policy-making across EU
International gathering in Dublin focuses on need for evidence-based policy-making across EUPictured: Kevin Bradley, president, Nickel Institute and Julie Girling MEP, chair of the informal European Parliamentary Working Group on Risk A total of 100 expert speakers and international delegates comprising policy-makers, regulators, governing bodies, industry and academia from the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, environmental and related sectors are gathering in Dublin today and tomorrow for a two-day European Risk Summit to examine the role of science in the formulation of legislation, regulation and directives. The European Risk Summit, hosted by the Irish Medicines Board, is seeking to help establish international principles as a way forward for science-based rule-making that will…
Read More20pc increase in professional jobs on offer in Ireland
The number of professional jobs on offer was 20pc higher in May, at 9,434, compared to a year ago and 5pc up on April of this year, according to the Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor. The number of professionals seeking new job opportunities increased by 2pc to 10,135 in May 2013. This upward trend has built slowly from January when 9,735 job seekers were recorded. However, on a yearly basis the number of job seekers has overall declined by 20pc from May 2012 to stand at 10,135 in May of this year. Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer, Morgan McKinley said it remained “cautiously optimistic”. “Though modest, the 5pc increase represents the…
Read MoreHealthXL global event in Dublin features seven revolutionary start-ups
Seven healthcare start-ups from around the world pitched next generation technologies with the aim of securing investment at the HealthXL Dublin Global Gathering Investor Day in Trinity Biomedical Building in Dublin yesterday. The entrepreneurs came from Finland, the US, Australia, Ghana, Canada and Ireland and pitched to angel investors including Silicon Valley Banks and Delta Partners as well as HealthXL mentors and the start-up community. The two start-ups from Ireland were Sense of Skin, a technology-enabled programme to help people with sensitive skin to avoid unsuitable health and beauty products and Nutritics, a tracking and analysis programme for diet and nutrition. As part of the event, HealthXL announced Silicon Valley Bank…
Read More37 researchers complete UCD commercialisation bootcamp
Thirty-seven researchers have just completed a new five-week commercialisation bootcamp designed to strengthen the pipeline of commercial opportunities arising from UCD and National College of Art and Design (NCAD) research programmes. Devised and delivered by the staff of UCD’s office of the vice-president for innovation, the programme was held in the university’s centre for new ventures and entrepreneurs, NovaUCD. The objective of the bootcamp, which will run twice a year, is to equip academic researchers, staff and postgraduate research students with the knowledge, skills and understanding of the commercialisation process. On completion, it is intended that participants will have developed a solid awareness of what it takes to build a…
Read MorePermanent TSB “Back in the Banking Business” – Chairman
Permanent TSB Group is back in the banking business with plans to approve lending of up to nine times more this year than in 2012, the chairman said today. Speaking at its annual general meeting, Alan Cook said the group is competing again for mortgage business, car loans, educational loans and current accounts. “We’ve been able to open the doors to lending through Permanent TSB again,” he said. The ‘Bank plus Two’ strategy, designed to create three distinct businesses, shows it is making “real progress” in addressing its problems and taking decisive action to improve the position of customers and the taxpayer, he noted. “Our strategy is now settled and…
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