Outward focus
National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) has
embarked on a journey with the ambition of becoming
an entrepreneurial university that will impact locally and
globally and embed the spirit of entrepreneurship at all
levels, according to Prof Lokesh Joshi, Vice President for
Research.
“T
Dr Patrick Prendergast, Provost and President, Trinity College Dublin
Embedded culture
Innovation and entrepreneurship are intrinsic to university
activities and Irish universities are increasingly providing the
cutting-edge research that fuels the country’s knowledge
economy - they educate the researchers, entrepreneurs, and
innovators who drive it; and they are nodes for attracting
talented people into a region.
S
o says Dr Patrick Prendergast,
Provost and President of
Trinity College Dublin, which
has implemented a strategy
that aims to embed a culture of
innovation and entrepreneurship
across the university targeting new
company creation through spin-outs,
spin-ins and support for student and
graduate enterprises.
Most recently, Trinity has started
development on a €70m innovation
and entrepreneurship hub collocated
with its School of Business.
“The new hub will provide space
for new start-ups on our technology
campus in Grand Canal Dock. But
our approach goes beyond just
space. We keep a strong focus on
ensuring that entrepreneurship and
innovation stay integrated into our
curriculum generally,” the Provost
says.
“Not all our students are going
to be entrepreneurs but everyone
will benefit from an entrepreneurial
mindset, regardless of whether they
are studying music, medicine or
engineering.”
A key part of Trinity’s strategy was
to establish the Innovation Academy
in collaboration with University
College Dublin in 2010 which has
since taken Queen’s University
Belfast on board.
There are currently around 400
PhD students taking modules through
the academy such as in creative
thinking, research communication
and intellectual property.
“An Innovation Academy
education acts as a catalyst for
innovation on the island of Ireland,
helping PhD students to