Programme provides support for Irish innovation

A major new initiative to build the innovation and R and D capabilities of Irish companies is underway.

A major new initiative to build the innovation and R and D capabilities of Irish companies is underway.

Enterprise Ireland, the Government agency responsible for developing Irish industry, has confirmed that Genesis Consulting and Scientific Generics are leading the project i2p - (Innovate to Profit), a training programme which provides world-class skill and expertise to companies in Ireland.

The programme will be funded under Enterprise Ireland's Innovation Management Initiative Starting in July 2005, i2p will be delivered through a combination of masterclasses, teaching and transferring best practice techniques, and in-house consulting support with individual companies on the full range of innovation and R and D management challenges.

Industry experts will include consultants from Genesis and Generics, but also Sir Richard Needham, Deputy Chairman of Dyson Appliances, Gary Anderson formerly Technical Director of Jordan Formula One and Prof Gary Hamel, Professor of Strategic Management at London Business School.

The Genesis-Scientific Generics team has been chosen based on their expertise in the public sector, having worked with the DTI and Scottish Enterprise on a number of high-profile projects to date and also the successful programme of work with the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward.

The Yorkshire Forward programme, called Innovation Challenge, has helped to create and safeguard 450 jobs so far in the advanced metals and engineering (AME) sector and has generated an additional GBP 24 million actual and projected sales for those companies on the programme in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Companies participating in i2p will cover industry sectors such as consumer products, industrial, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, computing and software and financial services, and are likely to include both Irish-based enterprises and local country operations of multinational firms located in Ireland.

Brian Mooney, Programme Director, Genesis Consulting said: "Scientific Generics and Genesis Consulting together bring a wealth of industrial and consulting experiences in innovation and R and D management".

"Irish companies can use this opportunity to address their most urgent product development challenges and help position the national economy for a future of indigenous, innovation-based growth".

John Greaves, Head of Public Sector at Scientific Generics, said: "We are delighted to be working with Enterprise Ireland and Genesis Consulting on this project".

"There are areas in the UK and Ireland where the skills and knowledge gap in developing technology needs to be addressed, and projects like this are filling this gap by bringing the public and private sectors together".

"We are keen to offer this type of service in other UK and European regions to assist them in stimulating the same level of additional wealth through innovation".

Jim Cuddy, Manager, Innovation and Technology Transfer Dept, Enterprise Ireland comments: "Managing innovation for competitive advantage is a key feature of successful Irish companies".

"This partnership brings an international perspective to our innovation and R and D training, building on the ground-breaking experience of our previous training programmes in this area".

"The i2p programme, through its combination of tuition and consultancy, will enable an increasing number of Irish based companies to generate world class products and services to compete effectively in international markets".

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