This afternoon, I spent a few hours visiting the recently opened Water Research Facility at Tuam this afternoon, hosted by Dr Michael Rodgers and Dr Eoghan Clifford, both of the Department of Civil Engineering at NUI Galway.
Showing posts with label Innovation Awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Innovation Awards. Show all posts
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Beyond the Recession: what can science and innovation partnerships do for you ?
This evening, I represented Engineers Ireland at the Foundation for Science and Technology discussion on "Beyond the Recession: what can science and innovation partnerships do for you?", at Queens University in Belfast, by kind invitation of Gerry Cawley of our Northern Ireland Region and Council member.
Monday, July 27, 2009
2010 Conference, and debate series
I met with John Power (DG) and Fionnuala Kilbane (marketing & comms. director) this morning at Clyde Rd., to review the plans to date for next years conference, and a new debate series.
Our conference will be hosted by the Cork Region on 22nd April and 23rd April next, and will celebrate out 175th anniversary. In discussions with the Cork Region, and in particular with its Chair Kevin Murray, we are planning to extend the conference to a full two days, including in particular a new session on the afternoon of the friday. This new plenary session will consider a number of specific resolutions, which will be proposed by the Regions, Divisions and Societies this autumn. Six of these will then be debated at Conference in the new afternoon session, with a proposing delegation (from a Region, Society or Division as appropriate).
There also a number of social activities around the conference being planned by the Cork Region.
In discussions this morning, we also examined the conference fees for 2010, and hope to be soon able to announce a modest reduction in conference fees, despite the longer conference (of two full days, rather than a day and a half).
In addition to the Conference, we are also planning a series of evening debates throughout the autumn, winter and spring, culminating in the Conference itself. Topics for debate could include national water policy; national energy strategy; the future of the construction industry; innovation; job creation, and regulation of the profession. The exact topics will be chosen in consultation with the Regions, Divisions and Societies in early autumn.
I believe that the new plenary session at Conference, and the debate series, should both provide an excellent way to further engage the Regions, Divisions and Societies; as well as provide further visibility of Engineers Ireland with the public at large.
Our conference will be hosted by the Cork Region on 22nd April and 23rd April next, and will celebrate out 175th anniversary. In discussions with the Cork Region, and in particular with its Chair Kevin Murray, we are planning to extend the conference to a full two days, including in particular a new session on the afternoon of the friday. This new plenary session will consider a number of specific resolutions, which will be proposed by the Regions, Divisions and Societies this autumn. Six of these will then be debated at Conference in the new afternoon session, with a proposing delegation (from a Region, Society or Division as appropriate).
There also a number of social activities around the conference being planned by the Cork Region.
In discussions this morning, we also examined the conference fees for 2010, and hope to be soon able to announce a modest reduction in conference fees, despite the longer conference (of two full days, rather than a day and a half).
In addition to the Conference, we are also planning a series of evening debates throughout the autumn, winter and spring, culminating in the Conference itself. Topics for debate could include national water policy; national energy strategy; the future of the construction industry; innovation; job creation, and regulation of the profession. The exact topics will be chosen in consultation with the Regions, Divisions and Societies in early autumn.
I believe that the new plenary session at Conference, and the debate series, should both provide an excellent way to further engage the Regions, Divisions and Societies; as well as provide further visibility of Engineers Ireland with the public at large.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Innovation Awards 2009
This evening was the national finals of the Innovation Awards 2009, in association with the Irish Independent. Siemens have sponsored some of the awards for some time, and this year the Dublin Airport Authority sponsored a new category on innovative sustainability. I'm also very grateful for the judges who gave freely of their time to make very difficult choices: Malcolm Edgar, Srdjan Krco, Jack MacGowan, Gerald Nagle, Eoghan Nolan, Michael O'Connor, Damien Owens, John Power, Paul Rellis, Brendan Tuohy, Lorcan Tyrrell, and John Walshe.
In his recent budget speech, the Minister of Finance stated that ‘our economy must return to being driven by sustainable export-led growth, rather than domestic demand’. The basis for a sustainable export-led growth is a new Smart Economy, relying on innovative people applying intelligence and insight, rather than brawn, to drive growth.
Science is the discovery of what already exists. Entrepreneurship organise business. Invention yields new ideas which did not previously exist.
Innovation is however how new ideas are put into practice.
Science Foundation Ireland’s mission is to develop a world class research capability. The discovery of new things, by research, may attract foreign investment, and it may encourage the invention of new products based on insights from the natural world. We celebrate our most successful scientists via SFI, the British Telecom Young Scientists Exhibition, and indeed via others.
We also celebrate our entrepreneurs via the annual competition sponsored by Ernst and Young and Ulster Bank. Entrepreneurs manage a business, sometimes taking considerable risk. It is wonderful to see the growth of family businesses, and the implementation within Ireland of imported business models and franchises, but it is unclear whether such ventures necessarily lead to a sustainable prosperity and repair of our faltering national competitiveness.
Joseph Schumpeter, in his Theory of Economic Development, noted that innovation brings new goods, new methods of production, new markets, new sources of raw materials, and new organisational structures into practice. If we innovate and bring new products, new processes, new markets, new sources, and new business structures into practice, then we will not only change Ireland but also change the world.
In my view, innovation is the true foundation for a sustainable export-led economy. Engineers Ireland chooses to celebrate our innovators, and our innovative companies.
The 2009 winner of the Innovative Company of the Year was OpenHydro, for its successful innovation of open turbine tidal power generators. Denis O'Connor is the 2009 Innovative Engineer of the Year, providing real time monitoring of water quality for a number of local authorities. Mesut Dogan won the 2009 Sustainability award for his Intelligent Air-City Dublin initiative for Dublin airport.
In the student awards, Nicola Greene won the Sustainability category, for her Green Roofs coupled with Rainwater Harvest for Dublin Airport. Colm O'Brien won the Level 7 award for his Automated Personalised Home/Work Environment using RFID tags. John Mulvihill won the Level 8 award for his Reduction of Time Required for Haemodialysis by Optimising the Mass Transport in an Idealised Dialysis Cartridge.
Finally, Noel Joyce was highly commended for his student project on novel braking system for wheelchairs.
Our country is asking much of our innovators. It was an honour to be able to recognise some of them this evening.
In his recent budget speech, the Minister of Finance stated that ‘our economy must return to being driven by sustainable export-led growth, rather than domestic demand’. The basis for a sustainable export-led growth is a new Smart Economy, relying on innovative people applying intelligence and insight, rather than brawn, to drive growth.
Science is the discovery of what already exists. Entrepreneurship organise business. Invention yields new ideas which did not previously exist.
Innovation is however how new ideas are put into practice.
Science Foundation Ireland’s mission is to develop a world class research capability. The discovery of new things, by research, may attract foreign investment, and it may encourage the invention of new products based on insights from the natural world. We celebrate our most successful scientists via SFI, the British Telecom Young Scientists Exhibition, and indeed via others.
We also celebrate our entrepreneurs via the annual competition sponsored by Ernst and Young and Ulster Bank. Entrepreneurs manage a business, sometimes taking considerable risk. It is wonderful to see the growth of family businesses, and the implementation within Ireland of imported business models and franchises, but it is unclear whether such ventures necessarily lead to a sustainable prosperity and repair of our faltering national competitiveness.
Joseph Schumpeter, in his Theory of Economic Development, noted that innovation brings new goods, new methods of production, new markets, new sources of raw materials, and new organisational structures into practice. If we innovate and bring new products, new processes, new markets, new sources, and new business structures into practice, then we will not only change Ireland but also change the world.
In my view, innovation is the true foundation for a sustainable export-led economy. Engineers Ireland chooses to celebrate our innovators, and our innovative companies.
The 2009 winner of the Innovative Company of the Year was OpenHydro, for its successful innovation of open turbine tidal power generators. Denis O'Connor is the 2009 Innovative Engineer of the Year, providing real time monitoring of water quality for a number of local authorities. Mesut Dogan won the 2009 Sustainability award for his Intelligent Air-City Dublin initiative for Dublin airport.
In the student awards, Nicola Greene won the Sustainability category, for her Green Roofs coupled with Rainwater Harvest for Dublin Airport. Colm O'Brien won the Level 7 award for his Automated Personalised Home/Work Environment using RFID tags. John Mulvihill won the Level 8 award for his Reduction of Time Required for Haemodialysis by Optimising the Mass Transport in an Idealised Dialysis Cartridge.
Finally, Noel Joyce was highly commended for his student project on novel braking system for wheelchairs.
Our country is asking much of our innovators. It was an honour to be able to recognise some of them this evening.
Busy day at Clyde Rd
Busy day today, and was in Clyde Road from 10am-8pm.
National innovation awards for 2009, with award ceremony this evening - see next posting. Also had media interviews from the Irish Independent, Silicon Republic and the Irish Times on the awards.
We submitted some comments on the transposition of EU Directive 2006/24/EC on Data Retention, jointly to the Ministers of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. We have a number of concerns and observations, and are offering our help to assist in deriving a pragmatic solution to the revised Data Retention legislation.
We are also in discussions on behalf of the Civil Division on the CIC proposals, in which we participated, to revitalise the construction industry, and we hope to address some reputed concerns from the Department of Finance on aspects of fiscal operation of the proposals.
I followed up some earlier discussions with the BT Young Scientists organisers today with our STEPS team, seeking to work together on schools outreach in the forthcoming year.
We are in early discussions with the Cork hosts of next year's annual conference, about the format of the event, and have some interesting suggestions which would lead to even greater engagement by our sectors and divisions.
Tomorrow morning: Spirit of Ireland event. Follow us live on webex or #sptirl
National innovation awards for 2009, with award ceremony this evening - see next posting. Also had media interviews from the Irish Independent, Silicon Republic and the Irish Times on the awards.
We submitted some comments on the transposition of EU Directive 2006/24/EC on Data Retention, jointly to the Ministers of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. We have a number of concerns and observations, and are offering our help to assist in deriving a pragmatic solution to the revised Data Retention legislation.
We are also in discussions on behalf of the Civil Division on the CIC proposals, in which we participated, to revitalise the construction industry, and we hope to address some reputed concerns from the Department of Finance on aspects of fiscal operation of the proposals.
I followed up some earlier discussions with the BT Young Scientists organisers today with our STEPS team, seeking to work together on schools outreach in the forthcoming year.
We are in early discussions with the Cork hosts of next year's annual conference, about the format of the event, and have some interesting suggestions which would lead to even greater engagement by our sectors and divisions.
Tomorrow morning: Spirit of Ireland event. Follow us live on webex or #sptirl
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