Prof Vincent Cunnane, President, Institute of Technology Sligo
IT Sligo key to regional development
IT Sligo is combining its strong regional profile and its focus on entrepreneurship to support business
growth and innovation in the north-west area.
I
T Sligo places immense
importance on entrepreneurship
and plays a central role in
developing that within the
region,” says its president, Prof
Vincent Cunnane. “It’s a core value
for us.”
The development, sustainability
and success of SMEs are particularly
important in regional areas, says
Cunnane. “We have to have the
ability to grow and sustain our own
companies and to see them scale.
“But also, in preparing our
students for work, we try to
embed in them knowledge of
entrepreneurship and opportunities
to set up their own businesses. So,
a focus on entrepreneurship is a
central tenet of the institute for our
students, for the companies in the
region and for the development of
start-ups.”
This has long been the case. IT
Sligo was one of the first institutes of
technology in the country to set up
a research office back in the 1980s.
Its innovation centre opened in 1989
and is now home to 24 businesses
that between them employ 98
people and generate close to €3m
in annual sales. The centre also has
around 12 promoters working in
hot-desk spaces in proof-of-concept
stage.
“The businesses are spin-outs
and spin-ins as the centre is also a
nexus for companies in the region
that are in the phase where they
need support,” says Cunnane.
“There would be an understanding
that IT Sligo provides that support,
encouragement, mentoring skills
that these start-ups need in order to
survive.”
One of IT Sligo’s aims is to provide
a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs
and enterprise to exploit the
physical and intellectual assets of the
institute. It has close relationships
with Enterprise Ireland and the
LEOs, while a key partner over the
years has been Letterkenny Institute
of Technology (LYIT), with which it
has worked on the New Frontiers
programme.
IT Sligo has also joined forces with
LYIT and Galway-Mayo IT (GMIT)
in a bid to be re-designated as a
technological university in the northwest region. Cunnane stresses that
much of IT Sligo’s current work with
industry is carried out on a regional
basis rather than just in Sligo.
The Innovation Centre at IT Sligo
is home to 35 start-up enterprises
at various stages of development.
These businesses employ 98 staff
and generate sales of nearly €3M
per year. The Innovation Centre is IT
Sligo’s hub for regional enterprise
development and has a track record
of success in supporting regional
entrepreneurs to develop and
expand their businesses. Some the
recent success stories include Verus
Precision, Firefly and Overstock.
The institution has three strategic
research centres in the areas
of precision engineering and
manufacturing: it has been the
national centre for tool-making since
the 1970s; environmental science
and technology – IT Sligo produced
the first graduates in environmental
science in the country; and social
sciences.
In the areas of environmental and
science technology and precision
engineering, it set up Crest, an
Interreg 4 group that has been
transitioned into a contract research
unit and has brought in 30 innovation
vouchers in the last 12 months.
“We’re harnessing the intellectual
expertise within the organisation
to help deliver on those,” says
Cunnane.
“There is a lot going on and that’s
12-13.indd 13
the way it has to be. We can’t afford
to specialise in terms of what we do
with industry, which comes to us and
expects us to be able to help across
a myriad of activities.
“For the future, we will be
continuing to work in a