Four education and training programmes to receive €7m under Innovators’ Initiative
Education and training programmes specialising in medtech, sustainable food, cyber security and digital health will receive €7 million under the Innovators’ Initiative.
The funding will be allocated over seven years and will create cohorts of highly skilled innovators who can observe and identify unmet market needs within specific sectors of growth in Ireland. Upon completion of a programme, the participants can form new enterprises or return to their sectors, bringing their new skills and education and training back to the sector thereby raising the absorptive capacity for innovation in their company.
The four successful programmes are BioInnovate, hosted by the University of Galway; Sustainable Food Systems & Agtech, hosted by University College Dublin and supported by Teagasc; Cyber-Innovate, hosted by the Munster Technological University Cork; and DigiBio, hosted by Dundalk Institute of Technology, in association with the Royal College of Surgeons, Tyndall Institute, Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin.
On completion of the programme participants can also access further funding and training through Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund, which may then lead to the formation of a High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) directly contributing to job creation. It is expected that the programme will increase the levels of regional development and activity in the establishment of new enterprises.
Marina Donohoe, Head of Research and Innovation at Enterprise Ireland said: “The four new education and training programmes launched under the Innovators’ Initiative will accelerate the development of innovation capability in Irish enterprise across all regions. Each of the programmes are focused on a specific sector of national or regional importance and will leverage the industrial strength and research capability of the region in which the programmes are based. On completion of a programme, the new cohort of highly skilled innovators will return to their sectors with the accrued benefits of their new skills and training, or can form new enterprises.
“The four programmes should be capable of producing hundreds of ideas over the seven-year initiative. If an idea addresses an unmet market need, the innovators can apply for support from the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund. That is the next step on the journey and we look forward to supporting the projects involved.”
The programmes are administered by Enterprise Ireland, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Government of Ireland, through the Northern & Western Regional Programme 2021-27 and the Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-27.
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