Dr Declan Dagger of Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics was recently announced as the winner of Enterprise Ireland’s inaugural ‘One to Watch’ award. Enterprise Ireland has commissioned the ‘One to Watch’ award to recognize researchers whose commercialisation efforts are considered to have the most business potential. Dr Dagger was presented with his award by Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Jimmy Devins at the first Enterprise Ireland Applied Research Forum in June.

Dr Dagger and his team have developed a new personalised e-learning tool to tackle the challenges presented by the fact that no two people learn the same way. A new company called Empower the User is being formed around the technology and Dr Dagger will be the CEO of the spin-out company when it launches in 2009.

Irish e-learning technology companies and the industry as a whole in Ireland has seen some excellent innovations and successes over the past 5 years. Now it looks this “Empoer the User” to be launched in 2009  is about to shake the industry up again. Empower The User is essentially an e-learning platform that delivers dynamic, personalised content. The “Empower the User” project all about empowering the user, and will have some serious benefits for companies too, as regards faster, improved training methods and lower costs.

An excellent article on the whole collage spin out industry from irish learning isntitutions is written by Gordon Smith of Silicon Republic –

The Greatest Innovations of All Time

Larry Keeley of Doblin Inc. nominates the innovations that have most improved safety, living standards, and quality of life. His choices may surprise

When it comes to saving or improving our lives, certain inventions and ideas stand out.
Here’s how we chose the most invaluable innovations ever:

1. It saved lives, extended average lifespan, or materially improved the quality of life.
Examples: anesthetics, surgery, vaccines, antibiotics, and genetic screening.

2. It led directly and indirectly to downstream derivative innovations that fundamentally altered how we live and what we are able to do as a species. Mathematics, money, property ownership, and containerized shipping make the list. The Internet makes it, but Google, Microsoft Windows, and iPods do not.

3. It helped to increase the amplifier effect of modern economies–increasing the standard of living for the population as a whole.Printing, free markets, capital markets, and limited liability each do this.

4. It freed up people’s time to do something besides just scramble endlessly for the food and shelter and clothing they need to survive. This is where the logic of Jared Diamond’s brilliant treatise Guns, Germs and Steel was helpful. Examples: weapons, domesticated animals, agriculture, and participative democracy.

We believe it is analytically impossible to definitively reduce these (and any similar) grandiose indices to deterministic ratings, say on a 1- to 100-point scale. Naturally, we would love to have this belief challenged.—Larry Keeley, president, Doblin

A better solar collector created by MIT researchers:

A more efficient way to concentrate sunlight could reduce the cost of producing solar power. Looking to make solar panels cheaper, MIT researchers have created sheets of glass coated with advanced organic dyes that more efficiently concentrate sunlight. The researchers, whose results appear in this
week’s issue of Science, say that the coated glass sheets could eventually make solar power as cheap as electricity from fossil fuels.

Colorful concentrators: The colored plastic sheets illustrate a way to concentrate sunlight. Combinations of advanced organic dyes made into similar sheets could make solar concentrators more practical. Credit: Kevin Bullis

The researchers show that the glass sheets can reduce the amount of expensive semiconducting material needed in solar panels and provide a cheap way to extract more energy from high-energy photons, such as
those at the blue end of the spectrum. “This could be the cheapest solar technology,” says Marc Baldo, a professor of electrical engineering at MIT. “And I think one day, it could be competitive with coal.”

The simple, flat sheets of glass have a number of advantages over previous solar concentrators, devices that gather sunlight over a large area and focus it onto a small solar cell that converts the light into electricity. Solar concentrators in use now employ mirrors or lenses to focus the light. Because the new glass sheets are lighter and flat, they can easily be incorporated into solar panels on roofs or building
facades.

They could also be used as windows, which, connected to solar cells, could generate electricity. What’s more, mirrors and lenses require mechanical systems for tracking the sun to keep the light focused on a
small solar cell. These tracking systems add cost and can break down over the decades that solar panels are made to be in service. The flat glass concentrators don’t require a tracking system. Instead of using optics, the glass sheets concentrate light using combinations of organic dyes specially designed by Baldo and his
coworkers. Light is absorbed by the organic dyes coating one side of the glass sheet. The dyes then emit the light into the glass. The glass channels the light emitted by the dye to the edges of the glass, in the
same way that fiber-optic cables channel light over long distances. The Image:
Colorful concentrators: The colored plastic sheets illustrate a way to concentrate sunlight. Combinations of advanced organic dyes made into similar sheets could make solar concentrators more practical.
Credit: Kevin Bullis  A better solar collector created by MIT researchers A more efficient way to concentrate sunlight could reduce the cost of producing solar power. Looking to make solar panels cheaper, MIT researchers have created sheets of glass coated with advanced organic dyes that more efficiently concentrate sunlight.

The researchers, whose results appear in this week’s issue of Science, say that the coated glass sheets could eventually make solar power as cheap as electricity from fossil fuels. The researchers show that the glass sheets can reduce the amount of expensive semiconducting material needed in solar panels and provide a cheap way to extract more energy from high-energy photons, such as those at the blue end of the spectrum. “This could be the cheapest solar technology,” says Marc Baldo, a professor of electrical engineering at MIT. “And I think one day, it could be competitive with coal.”   The simple, flat sheets of glass have a number of advantages over previous solar concentrators, devices that gather sunlight over a large area and focus it onto a small solar cell that converts the light into electricity. Solar concentrators in use now employ mirrors or lenses to focus the light. Because the new glass sheets are lighter and flat, they
can easily be incorporated into solar panels on roofs or building facades. They could also be used as windows, which, connected to solar cells, could generate electricity. What’s more, mirrors and lenses require mechanical systems for tracking the sun to keep the light focused on a small solar cell. These tracking systems add cost and can break down over the decades that solar panels are made to be in service.

The flat glass concentrators don’t require a tracking system. Instead of using optics, the glass sheets concentrate light using combinations of organic dyes specially designed by Baldo and his coworkers. Light is absorbed by the organic dyes coating one side of the glass sheet. The dyes then emit the light into the glass. The glass channels the light emitted by the dye to the edges of the glass, in the
same way that fiber-optic cables channel light over long distances.

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For the past five years, the World Investment Conference has presented annual awards for both the best investment and the most dynamic European investment promotion agency. In 2008, these two prizes have been combined to form a single award in recognition of the fact that outstanding investments do not materialize without effective support from a well-organized development agency.

Best High-Tech Investment Award
Sony and Invest in Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency have received the Best High-Tech Investment Award for two projects developed in Nitra, Slovakia in the past two years of over 100 million euros, which have created more than 3,000 jobs in the region.
This Prize has been awarded to Serge Foucher, Executive VP of Sony Europe GmbH and Peter Hajas, CEO of Invest in Slova Investment and Trade Development Agency.

Best Knowledge Management Investment Award
Saint-Edwards University and the French West Atlantic Agency have received the Best Knowledge Management Award for the setting up of the university’s European campus in Angers, France. This project is committed to helping students demonstrate knowledge of politics, economics, culture and communication through a global framework and to participate in international experiences. This is the second American University to set up a campus in France.
This Prize has been awarded to Professor George E. Martin, President of Saint-Edwards University, Texas and Jean-Luc

Best Clean Technologies Investment Award
Solfocus and Interes, Invest in Spain have been distinguished for the development of solar plant in Puertollano in Spain, creating several hundreds of new jobs and investing over 50 million dollars. This significant investment is a direct result of the Solfocus’ participation in the 1st California Technology Showcase.
This Prize has been awarded to Gary Conley, CEO of Solfocus and Begona Cristeto, CEO of Interes, Invest in Spain.

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This is an interesting vid clip with Scott Berkum who was a senior project manager for Microsoft and now author on innovation and innovative processes. The Clip is all about Innovations Myths. Well worth a cuppa Joe and a sit back and view.

Watch Tom Peters – The true disgruntled change guru. The guy just always makes sense -watch him, listen to him, read his books – If you want to change, look at things from new perspectives, dust the cobwebs off or bring your company into the future with fresh creative thinking this is the guy to learn from. I use him as my mentor numero uno in all things to do with innovation and innovative thinking.

Internet Broadcasting Introduces New Online Opinion Tool Slantly

Internet Broadcasting, a local media network for broadcast publishers, announced today the official launch of Slantly, an online opinion tool. Slantly is intended for web publishers to integrate into their site to create discussions and spark debate. Several major web publishers have already partnered with Slantly to use the tool, including…go to TechCrunch For More

Just a little update on Innovation in Ireland – some musings:

So what’s new in Irelands Innovative landscape, let’s have a look at what young companies have come on the scene in the last few years that have turned investors heads with their highly innovative products and services. Were going to look at what companies are the ground breakers and potential money makers coming out of Ireland.

Here’s how the journey usually starts for young and aspiring Irish entrepreneurs or even established companies with new and innovative ideas. In the search for money , advice access to players , markets and mentors the fist port of call is usually Enterprise Ireland – The Irish enterprise and development agnecy in charge ot assisting companies who can develop products or services to sell internationally.

Enterprise Ireland who helps young companies with grant aid and investment funding has seen its fair share of bright stars as well as a plethora of duds over the past number of  years. However it’s newly structured and standardised High Potential Start Up Group is more discerning these days in which projects it allows in and sends up the ladder for approval into the system. On talking to Gerry O Brien their gatekeeper to the HPSU group, new companies need to be able to show that their products or services will perform on an international stage employ at least 10 people in Ireland over the following three years and within that period have a turnover of at least one million Euro. Once the start-up has proven it has the potential and ability to deliver and has what it takes to be a potential international success then the company gets enrolled into the system and a Development Advisor (DA) or handler is assigned to the company to help them move forward in the system toward grant aid and/or investment funding.

Some of the companies I will be discussing have qualified and are in this program have either receive d EI funding or are awaiting funding approval. Some of the companies we will be analyzing haven’t yet approached Enterprise Ireland or might not fit into their required profile of a HPSU Start-Up. Some of the companies will be campus funded and supported companies. In Ireland this means that they have an affiliation of some sort with a learning Institution usually a University and we call these “University Spin-Outs”.

Companies To Keep and "EyeOn"

1. Aqua-Nu Filtration Systems Ltd. www.aqua-nu.com
2. Intelligent Design Technologies Ltd. www.ezcdstack.com
3. Beyond Encryption Technologies Ltd
   www.beyondencryption.com
4.