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Innovation Festival Inspires Creativity

16 October 2012

The University of Ulster is hosting four events this week to celebrate and inspire creativity in business as part of the Innovation Dublin Festival.

The University Knowledge Club is bringing the annual festival north of the border to Belfast and Derry~Londonderry as well as hosting an event in Dublin.

As part of the festival, the Creative Industries KTN (Knowledge Transfer Network) today co-hosted a half day event about the Technology Strategy Board's funding competition exploring the feasibility of projects that will lead to new business models for content based on cross-media formats and consumption.

The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £1.8m in feasibility projects that address the converged nature of the digital landscape. The programme will be delivered in three challenges during 2012.

The session, at the Belfast campus, provided an opportunity for potential applicants to learn more about the programme and how to apply for it.

On Wednesday, the University of Ulster teams up with the Fumbally Exchange in Dublin for the Design Dialogue event, which will provide a great opportunity to witness the success and experiences of other designers and to gain inspiration for future innovation and collaborations in design.

The Exchange is a community of design-focused small businesses, sole traders and start-ups. Its aim is to cultivate an atmosphere for creative and regenerative growth in a time of great challenges and volatility in our industry.

The Magee campus in Derry will join a number of exclusive locations around the world including Beijing, Singapore and Sydney, to host an IBM Smartcamp on Thursday.

The Smartcamp is aimed at identifying early stage entrepreneurs who are developing business ventures that align with the IBM Smarter Planet vision.

A range of companies from across Ireland will attend, with projects ranging from an online dental diagnosis platform to a solution that empowers the home cook to reverse the negative global trend in food-related health. They will compete against one another for access to world-class advisors plus a direct route to seed and venture capital.

The Festival week ends with the Irish Times Innovation Cities Roadshow at the Belfast campus on Friday. Successful entrepreneurs and other experts will give insights into leading business issues and offer practical ideas on how to develop your business performance.

Among the speakers will be Brian Lavery, SME Marketing Manager at Vodafone Ireland; Angela Reavey who established her own management consulting practice earlier this year; Norman Crowley from Crowley Commerce, one of the first eCommerce services companies in the world and Maurice Mulvenna, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Ulster.

To register for this free event visit www.irishtimes.com/innovation

Edward Friel, Head of Business Liaison & Academic Development at Ulster, said: “We are delighted to support the vision of Innovation Dublin and celebrate and showcase innovation and creativity that happens at the University of Ulster. We look forward to widening our engagement with this exemplary initiative in years to come.”

The Festival is a key project of the Creative Dublin Alliance, a collaboration between Dublin local authorities, universities, state agencies, businesses and the not-for-profit sector.The Festival is co-ordinated by Dublin City Council’s Economic Development Unit.

For further information on any of the events please contact Karen Reid on knowledgeclub@ulster.ac.uk or call 028 90 368019.