BUSINESS
Eight out of eight for Waterford tech campus
30-06-2006
by Maxim Kelly
Waterford Institute of Technology's Research and Innovation Centre has averaged one tech start-up per month since it opened last year.
Established in October 2005 at WIT's Carriganore campus, eight technology sector start-ups have moved to the purpose-built facility over the eight months it has been in operation.
The EUR5 million Research and Innovation Centre was funded by Enterprise Ireland, the Higher Education Authority and Allied Irish Banks last year, covering nearly 2,500 square metres of the Institute's 150-acre site nestled alongside the banks of the River Suir.
News of the new start-up companies emerging in Waterford comes only a fortnight after the Government announced a massive boost for technology research. As part of the next National Development Plan, the Government plans to invest EUR3.8 billion in the Irish tech sector -- EUR2.7 billion of which will be spent on promoting third level research and the private sector before 2008. It is envisaged that a large chunk of this funding will go to "technology incubators" such as the Research and Innovation Centre.
The Waterford Centre accommodates 110 researchers from WIT's Telecommunications Software and Systems Group (TSSG), and the South East Enterprise Platform Programme (SEEPP).
Many of the new companies locating to the Research and Innovation Centre have been spun out of these WIT research groups.
The eight start-up companies that have arrived in Waterford since October are Headway Software, Impact Broadcasting, Celsus Solutions, Sharpbyte, Rodarim, Hash6, Akru and Aceno.
"We are particularly delighted that several of our client companies are spin-outs from TSSG research and that some others are graduates of the SEEPP programme," said manager of the Innovation Centre, Tom Corcoran. "Other companies are led by Institute graduates who have started their own businesses and all of the entrepreneurs see value in being located alongside enterprises that are at a similar stage of development," he said.
There are 25 units of various sizes for early-stage businesses with workspaces that can be configured to specific client needs at the Carriganore campus. There are also conferencing, videoconference, seminar and restaurant facilities on-site.
"The 'no-vacancy' sign hasn't gone up yet but the technology incubator is filling up fast," according to Corcoran. "We expect another six companies to move in by the end of this year," he said.
The current eight tenants represent a cross-section of the commercialisation of ideas originated in WIT. Headway specialises in source-code reverse engineering, and Impact Broadcasting provides online presentation services. Celsus Solutions specialise in mobile working solutions, and Sharpbyte creates file compression structures for image files. Rodarim is an e-learning specialist, while Hash6 makes digital technologies for radio stations. Aceno is a mobile service firm specialising in getting e-tailer content onto mobile phones, and Akru is a technology company.
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