NUI Galway performed well in the areas of knowledge transfer, innovation and impact during 2021.
The past 12 months saw the university engage in 50 industry collaborations, register four spinouts in medical technology and provide supports for 35 early-stage businesses.
NUI Galway’s Vice-President for Research and Innovation Professor Jim Livesey commended the university for its efforts in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Despite all challenges thrown at us, 2021 was a year in which the University expanded its portfolio of spin-outs and widened engagement.
“We are immensely proud of the work our colleagues in the Innovation Office have done to support our entrepreneurial principal investigators and to offer new breakthroughs to the community.”
A spinout company is established in order to bring products and services developed through research at universities to market.
The four med-tech spinouts – Tympany Medical, FeelTect Medical, Endowave and Symphysis Medical – are developing medical devices meeting unmet needs which were also identified at NUI Galway as part of the BioInnovate Ireland programme.
David Murphy, Director of Knowledge Transfer and Innovation highlighted the vital role spinout companies play in bringing technological advances from NUI Galway to wider society.
“Spinouts are a critical route to successfully transfer technology out of the University. The creation of companies whose purpose is to turn research into societal impact is one of the core activities of the Innovation Office at NUI Galway.”
“Many of our start-ups have come through the Enterprise Ireland funded BioInnovate Ireland Programme, developed by NUI Galway, and we look forward to building on our expertise and commitment to generating new ventures in 2022,” he finished.
The addition of four new spinouts brings NUI Galway’s total to 24 companies employing over 185 people working to introduce innovative goods and services.
A number of other spinouts companies enjoyed success throughout the year which saw tens of millions allocated in funding for research projects and a Knowledge Transfer Ireland Impact Award nomination for NUI Galway.
The Business and Innovation Centre at the university’s Innovation Office also offered mentoring and support to 35 early-stage businesses and facilitated the use of laboratories, wet-labs and office space.
Sustainability was high on the agenda with the Innovation Office also assisting in research that addressed the 17 Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nations which spanned a number of departments including Geography, Philosophy, English and Psychology.
2021 also saw the launch of a toolkit for researchers developed at NUI Galway which offers tools for planning and monitoring the impact of research.
