SETU hosted the InnoCom Interregional Exchange meeting at its Kilkenny Road campus in Carlow on 25 September.
Attended by InnoCom Project partners, the group learned about SETU’s supports for enterprise engagement as an Irish stakeholder in the interregional project. Project partners represented cities and regions across Italy, Romania, France, Latvia, Slovenia, Ireland, Ukraine, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Supporting SMEs in the future
The project intends to remove barriers that keep SMEs from accessing the full benefits of EU funding opportunities intended to help elevate their business development and competitiveness within industry. Through interregional learning and frequent stakeholder feedback, the project aims to help SMEs expand their operations, create a more user-friendly relationship with other businesses, and obtain increased visibility for future EU funding opportunities.
Industry supports
The group was welcomed by Brian Ogilvie, Head of Research and Commercialisation Support at SETU. He spoke to the group about the range of industry supports available at SETU. He said, "Learnings from the InnoCom project have helped inform SETU in building capacity for micro-enterprise innovation in the region, as well as developing rural engagement networks to better support rural-based businesses.”
The group also spoke about SETU’s strong focus on promoting technological progress and its various research initiatives.
Supporting entrepreneurs
The group then heard from Gemma Purcell, Enterprise Development Manager, who presented on Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers Programme and the different supports available for entrepreneurs nationally and regionally. The New Frontiers programme is running nationwide with 18 locations to help ambitious startup founders develop their innovative business ideas through connections, confidence, and capital.
The event was topped off with a campus tour led by Richard Whyte, Design+ Technology Gateway Manager at SETU. The tour took the group around the Carlow campus, finishing at the University's Dargan Centre, home to SETU's Design+ workspace.
For more information on the InnoCom project, click here.
For more information on the New Frontiers Programme, click here.