February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin have signed a transatlantic collaboration agreement with the Silicon Valley-based Irish Technology Leadership Group. The deal is aimed at enhancing innovation and to create new business opportunities in the U.S. for emerging Irish companies.
Meeting in Dublin last week, TCD Provost, Dr, John Hegarty, UCD President, Dr. Hugh Brady, along with ITLG chairman John Hartnett, announced a “Memorandum of Understanding” to promote technological innovation through their partnership.
The agreement will see the Campbell, California-based ITLG working with the two largest Irish universities to advance the goals of the recently announced Innovation Alliance.
A Silicon Valley industry organization comprised of Irish American technology leaders, ITLG will contribute its expertise to enhance the training of students participating in the newly formed TCD/UCD Innovation Academy.
As part of the deal, The ITLG will also help expand the number of business ventures resulting from the alliance. In addition, Irish Technology Capital (ITC), a sister organization of ITLG that is also based in Silicon Valley, will help to drive funding in Ireland.
Those attending the Dublin meeting also announced that they would lead their respective organizations at a summit meeting to be hosted at the Irish embassy in Washington, D.C. on September 10.
The objective of the summit will be to devise a program of collaboration around a number of key areas including the creation and management of a dedicated technology venture capital fund.
“In the midst of Irish and U.S. economic turmoil, there has never been a more important moment to foster and invest in technological innovation. ITLG is delighted to seize the opportunity to pursue that objective in partnership with Ireland’s premier research universities through the Innovation Alliance,” said ITLG’s John Hartnett.
“In the Innovation Alliance we would like to expose our students a little more to that spirit of creativity, entrepreneurship and drive for success that characterizes the ITLG members, themselves graduates of the Irish education system,” said Trinity’s John Hegarty.
“We are firmly confident that the caliber of our graduates and our research will encourage greater engagement between the Innovation Alliance and the ITLG,” added UCD’s Brady.