Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), the Irish body that makes it simpler for businesses to boost their competitiveness through innovation with the third level, has announced the results of their Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey (AKTS) 2020.
Irish knowledge transfer
According to findings in the AKTS, 39 new products or services were launched to market in 2020 through collaboration between industry and publicly funded research. This figure was up 13 from 2019’s figures.
The products and services launched in 2020, which provide solutions to real-world problems in diverse fields such as diagnostics, energy, digitalisation and plant varieties, make it 247 brought to market since Knowledge Transfer Ireland began publishing the AKTS in 2013.
Irish businesses continue to prioritise research & development
Research and development activity continues to be a priority for Irish businesses, with a total of 3,681 new engagements with Irish public research in 2020, representing a 39% increase on the previous year.
Irish SMEs continue to have a strong appetite for engaging in research, development, and innovation with three quarters of collaboration agreements between industry and publicly funded research originating from Irish SMEs.
Spin-out companies, formed from Irish universities, Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and other publicly funded research bodies, also grew in 2020 with 30 new spin-outs formed. There are a total of 128 Active Spin-outs that are three or more years in existence, and these companies employ 1,112 people.
Nine companies that started life as university spin-outs were acquired in 2020, with a combined value of €7.9m, underlining the attractiveness of Irish spin-outs to external investment.
Alison Campbell, Director Knowledge Transfer Ireland, said: “Events of the last 18 months have shown how vital an engaged and proactive knowledge transfer community is. With significant increases in live collaboration projects, new products and services launched, and new jobs in spin out companies to name a few, it is clear that Irish enterprise recognises the very real part that working with the third level on R&D can play in helping them innovate their business for the future.”
The 2020 Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey is available in full here.
More about Irish Tech News
Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.
You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news
If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.
Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.
You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.