iHubs Newsletter April 2019
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 Breaking New Ground
It is exam season here in GMIT. The new iHub extension in Galway is now well underway. Sincere thanks to all GMIT staff, students and our own iHub client companies for accommodating the extension while we manage and minimise any disruption. We will be posting a quarterly update shortly on progress to date.
In other news, we will be hosting a number of events in May. Intertrade Ireland will be giving an introduction to the Seedcorn compeition in Castlebar on May 1st. We will be hosing an even on MedTech Cybersecurity in the Galway iHub on Thursday 2nd May. GMIT will also be hosting a one day event on Blockchain on May 31st. We hope to see you at one or more of these events. Cheers, George.
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GMIT New Frontiers Best Emerging Business Awards Winners
The creator of CBD Coffee Infusion has won the top prize in the GMIT New Frontiers Best Emerging Business Awards. Francis Bonner from Mayo has won €10,000, sponsored by KPMG, for his innovative technique of CBD infusion during coffee roasting. According to Francis “CBD, a natural oil found in marijuana and hemp plants, is known to provide relief from acute pain, seizures, depression, inflammation and more. CBD oil is a food supplement, it is legal and safe to use. GMIT's School of Science supported Francis and his team with R&D and testing services for their new CBD coffee bean product.
Well Bean Coffee enhances the life experience of health-conscious consumers, using lab tested, legal and safe infusions. Kaffa supply Well Bean Coffee to cafés throughout the county providing an interesting and healthy option for their customers.”
David McIntyre from Mayo, inventor of the Cubbie Sensory Care unit, claimed the Runner-up Award of €1,000, sponsored by AIB. David is an experienced product designer and created his system when he found very few options for his special needs daughter. A children’s hospital and a number of schools have already purchased his system.
The One-to-Watch Award of €1000, sponsored by Averian Consulting, was won by Kieran Barry of SealSpear Technologies based in Galway.
SealSpear specialise in coating micro and nano bubbles on the hulls of large oceangoing vessels. This air lubrication technologies reduces fuel consumption and harmful emissions of massive cargo and passenger ships.
Funded by Enterprise Ireland, New Frontiers is a business start-up process delivered through GMIT Innovation Hubs in Galway and Mayo.
Emerging businesses have innovative technologies for commercialisation in world markets.
L-R: Tony O’Kelly - New Frontiers Manager, Mary McGinly - KPMG, Francis Bonner – Kaffa (winner), Margaret Charleton & Paula Carroll – Enterprise Ireland
L-R Adrienne Turley - AIB, David Macintyre – Cubbie Sensory, Grainne Halloran – AIB, Tony O’Kelly New Frontiers Manager
L-R Paula Carroll – Enterprise Ireland, Kieran Barry – SealSpear Technologies, Tony O’Kelly – New Frontiers Manager
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Demystifying Blockchain: Token, Identiy and Gamification - presented by The Irish Institute of Digital Business (IIDB)
The Irish Institute of Digital Business and Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology are delighted to invite you to attend a FREE 2-hour blockchain seminar May 31st discussing a number of implications of blockchain adoption, tokenisation and coin offerings.
Agenda:
11.00-11.15:
Speaker: Mr Eamon Walsh, Head of Department of Accounting and Information Systems at GMIT
Talk title: Digital Identity: Born on the Block
11.20-11.35:
Speaker: Dr Pierangelo Rosati, Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at DCU and Director of Industry Engagement at The Irish Institute of Digital Business
Talk title: Leveraging Security Token Offering to democratise access to “elite” products: the case of algorithmic trading
11.40- 11.55:
Speaker: Dr Andrew Le Gear, CTO of Horizon Globex
Talk title: Blockchain Utopia Meets Regulated Reality: Why the SEC Ruined the Token Party
12.00-12.15:
Speaker: Dr Trevor Clohessy, Lecturer and Researcher of Transformative Technologies at GMIT
Talk title: Blockchain and Gamification: A Match Made in Heaven?
12.20-12.35:
Speaker: Mr Alan Bermingham, Blockchain Lead at Exertis Supply Chain Services
Talk title: Incorporating Blockchain into your Business Model: Possible Implications of Blockchain Adoption
12.40-12.55
Speaker: Mr Jonas Pfannschmidt, Principal Blockchain Engineer at Blockdaemon
Talk title: Top Blockchain Platforms – compare and contrast.
13.00:
Lunch and Networking
Bookings:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/demystifying-blockchain-tokens-identity-and-gamification-tickets-60574786818/amp
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EMPOWER - What the participants have to say
The Empower Programme is a new Female Entrepreneur Programme targeted at female entrepreneurs from Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. This programme plans to address specific challenges that hinder females and will help to fast track female-led businesses.
It commenced in October 2017 with 32 females being selected onto the Programme and is delivered by the GMIT Innovation Hubs who have a successful track record in delivering entrepreneurship programmes across the region. The second cycle is currently underway.
Here is what some of the participants had to say;
We thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Empower 2017 Programme. The course was well organised and structured with informative and appropriate speakers and presenters each week but most of all we gained a lot of knowledge, insight and advice from our peers/participants on the course.
Emer Bourke & Siobhan Hennelly
Co-Founders, Food Fitness Fertility Ltd
The EMPOWER Programme has opened up a new network of people and supports which I could not have accessed myself but the best part was meeting Maria and all the participants who have been so encouraging, fun to meet and I look forward to seeing us all develop over the next two years.
Mary Finn
Connect4Work
The Empower Programme reawakened the confidence in myself. It gave me a clearer vision in my business and great guidelines to follow in order to improve it, I loved the course and the amazing women on it.
The Empower Programme is a great learning and support network, we encourage each other and form lasting friendships. It was an amazing journey learning what others see and think about you and your business, it removes the wool from your eyes if you are willing to listen and learn.
Rachel Dubber
Rachel Dubber Photography
I found the EMPOWER GROWTH programme to be a fantastic experience. Goal setting at each monthly meeting helped me to focus and made me accountable for my own progress. Speakers were interesting, relevant and inspiring and Maria, our co-ordinator, could not have been more helpful, creating connections for me to relevant people and businesses. It was also great to be in a group of like-minded ladies who were a source of inspiration, wisdom, encouragment and fun. Thanks Maria, Declan and all the ladies on EMPOWER GROWTH 2017/2018.
Niamh Ryle
Women in business in the West of Ireland may find themselves up against many barriers, but through the invaluable support of the programme Mentors and peers, EmpowerHer has provided me with the tools to overcome any challenge my business may face. Since commencing the Start programme, my business has already started to achieve traction within the market and I am excited about what the futures holds for Hawthorn Handmade Skincare.
Elaine Kennedy
Hawthorn Skincare
The Empower Growth programme is a brilliant option for female entrepreneurs when growing their business. All the speakers were excellent and the information is invaluable, but the biggest benefit for me was the mentoring and networking provided by the group itself. It really helped to increase my confidence in myself as a business woman and in my product. We’ve created a lasting relationship and I believe we will continue to provide help and support to each other beyond the programme into the future.
Mary Corrigan
Noo Chocolates
EMPOWER is funded by the Department of Justice and Equality and the European Social Fund. It has two parts: EMPOWER Start for early stage ideas or businesses less than a year old, and EMPOWER Growth for females in Business for two years or more. EMPOWER Start takes place one day a week over 12 weeks and EMPOWER Growth takes place one Saturday a month over a year.
The next recruitment for EMPOWER Growth will be September 2019. Anyone interested should contact EMPOWER office 0949043198 or see www.fb.ie/empowerher.ie or www.empowerher.ie
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Seedcorn competition now seeking applicants
The Seedcorn competition mirrors the real life investment process and can greatly improve your ability to attract investment for your business by helping you and your business become investor ready. The competition is aimed at early and new start companies that have a new equity funding requirement and has a total cash prize fund of €280,000. Seedcorn can greatly improve your ability to attract investment for your business by helping you and your business become investor ready.
Categories
- New start company
For companies under five years old at 31 May 2019 and who are seeking to raise new equity of between €50,000 and €299,999.
- Early stage company
For companies under five years old at 31 May 2019 and who are seeking to raise in excess of €300,000.
Prizes
There are nine cash prizes up for grabs and entrepreneurs compete against each other regionally before competing for the all-island Best New Start and Best Early Stage Company titles.
Every business idea / plan submitted is reviewed by our investment experts and you are given individual feedback on request. Shortlisted companies also get a unique opportunity to pitch to investors and business leaders.
- €100,000: Overall winner
- €50,000: Best Category Winner
- 6 x €20,000: Regional Winners
- €10,000: Special Award Winner for the best venture stemming from a university spin-out or support programme
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Medtech Cybersecurity Workshop
This free morning event (Thursday 2nd May 2019 from 11am to 12.30pm, Galway iHub) presented by NOVA LEAH will discuss their platform in relation to the following:
- expert cybersecurity risk analysis system
- automated solution to implement & maintain cybersecurity across your medical device product portfolios
- reducing risk & improving patient safety
- reduce costs in both pre & post market
Connected medical devices are vulnerable—and the cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing. That’s why the experts at Nova Leah developed SelectEvidence ®, an expert cybersecurity risk analysis system. This is the first of its kind, providing medical device manufacturers with an automated solution for implementing and maintaining cybersecurity requirements across medical device product portfolios.
Members of the Nova Leah team will be hosting this workshop on Thursday 2nd May 2019 from 11am to 12.30pm, Galway iHub.
Joining Nova Leah will be Dr. Fergal McCaffery from the Regulated Software Research Centre, Dundalk Institute of Technology. Dr Mc Caffery is a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Principal Investigator. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Visual and Human Centred Computing within DkIT. He is Director of the Regulated Software Research Centre (RSRC) in Dundalk Institute of Technology and the Medical Device Software Engineering competency area leader in Lero - The Irish Software Research Centre.
Dr Mc Caffery will be discussing the role of the Regulated Software Research Centre and will touch on topics such as:
- Medical Device Software Engineering
- Basic and Applied Research within the centre
- Centre's role in International Medical Device Standards Community
To register, visit: clr.ie/128200. Tickets are limited for this event. |
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News In Brief
A roundup of news stories from GMIT iHubs in the past month:
- A GMIT engineering student’s prototype of the Avalanche Backpack has won him the overall Engineers Ireland’s Project Award at GMIT’s Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Expo 2019. John O’Toole from Inishturk, Co Mayo, won the overall Mechanical Engineering Year 4 Competition. Congrats John. Read the full story here.
Six GMIT students/teams have been selected to participate in the second round of Enterprise Ireland's Student Entrepreneur Awards. Only 50 were selected out of hundreds of applicants. This was the first year a second year student from GMIT was selected to compete in the second round.
Sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys, Grant Thornton and the Local Enterprise Office, the Student Entrepreneur Awards offers third level students from all academic disciplines and courses of study the opportunity to realise their entrepreneurial ambitions.
Best of luck to all involved.
- A selection of unique food products created by third year BA Culinary Arts students in GMIT were showcased in the Galway International Hotel School recently with student Jarlath Mc Dermott, Lady Gregory Hotel, Gort, winning best product for ‘Petite Treat, a healthy, gluten-free, frozen, coconut-based luxury dessert that was judged to have “excellent potential, in both the retail and the wholesale market”. Full story here.
- A number of job vacancies are now open in GMIT. To view the full list visit:
- https://www.gmit.ie/human-resources/jobs-gmit
For more news please visit our Facebook page. |
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