Knowledge Transfer Ireland announce winners Impact Awards
Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), the Irish body that helps connect businesses of all sizes to publicly funded research opportunities, has announced the winners of their 9th annual Impact Awards. The KTI Impact Awards celebrate the work of the Higher Education Innovation Offices around the country, and their role in helping transform academic research into commercial impact.
Three prestigious awards were up for grabs across Commercialisation Impact, Industry Engagement, and the Future Forward Award.
Teagasc, Independent Milk Laboratories (IML), FBA Laboratories (FBA) and Kerry Group secured the Industry Engagement Award, for an enduring research partnership through which industry consulted with Teagasc in relation to specialist expertise in testing for chlorate residues. Following licensing of proprietary testing methodologies from Teagasc by these companies, critical Teagasc consultancy led to rapid establishment of new testing laboratories in Ireland, with immediate impact for Teagasc, companies and the dairy industry.
Siobhan Jordan, Technology Transfer Office Teagasc; Martin Danaher, Teagasc Food Research Officer; and Robert Burns, Independent Milk Laboratories provide more information about the project in the short clip below.
Chlorate residues present potential health concerns, especially for infants, that could have a negative bearing on Irish infant formula exports currently worth €1 billion annually. As the sole Irish commercial provider of accredited chlorate testing of milk samples to the Irish dairy industry, Teagasc worked with these companies to establish new analytical laboratories, thereby ensuring increased demands by Irish dairy industry for testing was met .Consultancy included bespoke training to staff in operation of equipment, test methods and data analysis and establishment of new laboratories. As well as allowing Kerry Group to rapidly test its own milk samples, this has resulted in establishment of high quality commercial testing labs for, FBA and IML with combined testing of 80,000 samples, revenue exceeding €1 million and 8 jobs created as a result.
Pictured receiving an Industry Engagement Award, at the Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) impact awards were (L to R); Marianne Nolan (Kerry Agribusiness), Martina Cullivan (Independent Milk Laboratories), Mohammad Hossain (Teagasc), Robert Burns (Independent Milk Laboratories), Siobhan Jordan (Teagasc), Sharon Sheahan (Teagasc), Conor Butler (FBA Laboratories), Martin Danaher (Teagasc), Clément Douillet (Teagasc), Mary Moloney (Teagasc) and Miriam Walsh Teagasc).
Trinity College Dublin and SilverCloud Health scooped the Commercialisation Impact Award, for success achieved by a spin-out company from the university. SilverCloud Health Ltd spun out from Trinity College Dublin in 2012 having developed a system that helps patients suffering with mental health conditions.
University College Dublin and PlasmaBound won this year’s Future Forward Award. PlasmaBound has developed a ground-breaking, environmentally friendly, lightweight composite bonding technology that poses real potential as a key solution in advanced manufacturing.
Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary TD said: “Congratulations to all the winners on what is further evidence of a thriving ecosystem of collaboration between industry and publicly funded research. With solutions to address immediate health, social and environmental concerns it is very welcome to see both revenue and job creation as a result of public-funded research commercialisation and collaboration.”
Imelda Lambkin, Manager – Disruptive Technologies, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at Enterprise Ireland and Chair of the judging panel, said: “Firstly, it was most welcome to be back to an in-person event following virtual ceremonies in 2020 and 2021. The quality of collaboration between businesses and publicly-funded research continues to improve year on year and the calibre of award entries reflect this, making 2022 a challenging one for the judging panel. It is important to pay particular credit to the work of the technology transfer offices around the country who provide the vital link and support structure so knowledge transfer can deliver meaningful outcomes to society. The teams in these offices around the country are key to the successes being celebrated by the KTI Impact Awards.”