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Dublin opens doors to architectural innovation

We’re fans of innovation in all its forms here in ID HQ, and an upcoming event that’s really demonstrates an innovative approach is Open House. 

In case you haven’t heard, Open House is an event whereby Dublin buildings of all types and periods open their doors to allow citizens to explore the architecture of the city. 

Organized by the Irish Architecture Foundation, the event takes place from 7th-10th October and is designed to highlight the importance and value of architecture at a time when the industry is experiencing something of a lean patch.

Curated by Dr Sandra O’Connell, this year’s programme juxtaposes tours of new city landmarks – such as the Aviva Stadium and the Samuel Beckett Bridge – with historic gems including Leinster House and the Casino in Marino.

There are tours and specially compiled documentary films too, all packed with interesting information to help you get under the skin of the city.

The IAF are confirming and adding event details to Open House Dublin all the time, so visit http://www.architecturefoundation.ie/openhouse for regular programme updates.

All Open House events are free of charge, and only a small proportion will require pre- booking, which will open online on 20 September 2010.

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Money & mentoring up for grabs!

 A new competition and the return of a successful mentoring programme offer enticing opportunities for budding entrepreneurs and start-ups.

On Wednesday at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, the Learning and Innovation Centre (LINC) launched a new annual competition for entrepreneurs and SMEs. 

"JUMPSTART 2010 is a competition open to entrepreneurs who want to base their business in an innovative and supportive environment during their first three years of the development of the business. The LINC will provide an incubation space for twelve months and 5 days of dedicated mentoring from industry experts to the winning company. The value of this award is €20,000."

 

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Calling All Writers!

'From Page to Stage' is a new competition seeking out literary talent across the Dublin region.

Jointly organised by the local authority library services of Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin, From Page to Stage is an opportunity for new playwrights to showcase their work as part of Innovation Dublin.

Previously unpublished writers are invited to submit a play for consideration. It must contain no more than  three characters and be no longer than 40 minutes duration.

Winners will direct their own work using the services of professional actors provided by the organisers.

Judging will be carried out by Laurence Foster, Daniel Reardon, playwright Bernard Farrell and actor and director Cathryn Brennan. The overall winner will receive a prize of €500 and will have their work presented in Dublin City Council’s new Wood Quay Venue.

Deadline for receipt of entries is Sept 15th. For more information, including full competition rules, see the competition page. 

 

 

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Google Wave closure – ‘shows strong innovation mgt’

In reaction to news of the failure of Google Wave last week, one commentator detected a sign of strength.

Google’s decision to shut down Wave – its real-time social networking and collaboration tool - just a year after launch was greeted with surprise last week, along with a good deal of speculation as to the cause. ‘Google lacks guts in killing short-lived Wave’ ran a typical headline. ‘Google Wave Slayed by Facebook and Twitter’ posited another, while ‘Apathy kills Google's new-age Wave’ was a widely held view. 

One commentator flying in the face of this trend was Harvard Business School professor Karim Lakhani, who argued that the search giant showed strong innovation-management in shutting down the service. In his Harvard Business Review article, Lakhani points out that 'uncertainty haunts all innovation attempts' and that good innovation management means not just ‘embracing creativity and innovation’, but also ‘allowing failure and dealing with it rapidly and efficiently.’ 

A fresh perspective - it’s worth a read. You can find it here.

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DCU provide €1 Million for Start-ups

It’s been covered elsewhere since it’s announcement last month, but the new grant scheme announced by Dublin City University’s Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship is a story worth repeating:

"Dublin City University’s Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship is delighted to announce the establishment of a seed venture fund of 1 million for early stage technology start-up companies. The new venture fund is an accelerator fund, which will help fund new companies develop from concept to product. The aim of the venture fund is to jump-start a number of high technology start-ups in Ireland with an emphasis on software and biotechnology hardware ideas such as medical devices and diagnostics."

Gordon McConnell, Deputy-CEO of the Ryan Academy and venture manager for the new fund explains: “Raising the money to get through the first year is often difficult for entrepreneurs and our objective is to support twenty early-stage entrepreneurial teams over the next two and half years. We want to help nurture innovative technology ideas and act as a launchpad for new entrepreneurs.”

The first round of investment will open for applicants in October this year, with the first four successful entrepreneurs being announced before the end of the year. A further eight entrepreneurs will be funded in 2011 and again in 2012.

More information, from Ryan Academy website, is available here. 

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City sustainability - discover the Palo Alto perspective…

What can Dublin learn from Palo Alto, California? How does city government, the community and business come together to create a sustainable city? 

Head along to Science Gallery next Tuesday evening and find out as Patrick Burt, Mayor of Palo Alto, California (pictured), shares lessons about moving a city towards sustainability and discusses how Dublin might benefit from a similar convergence. 

In Mayor Burt’s words, “Palo Alto is seeing a convergence of the environmental values that we hold as a city and city government, that the community holds and what’s in our economic best interests”.  

The event will be chaired by Dublin City Manager John Tierney, and the lecture will be followed by a question and answer session.

This meeting has been organised by the Earth Sciences Institute UCD and the Sustainable Dublin initiative being led by Dublin City Council.  (For more information, contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).)

What: Towards a Sustainable City - Lessons from Palo Alto. Seminar and Q&A discussion

Where: Paccar Theatre, Science Gallery, Pearse Street, Dublin.

When: Tuesday, August 10, 17:00pm.

How to book: This event is free, but pre-booking is essential. To reserve a free place, please click here. 

News

Take back your career. Take back your future.

National College of Ireland have just announced their second Career Bootcamp, which will be held from August 16th to 21st.

Career Bootcamp is a week long series of free seminars and workshops to give practical help in the current employment market and real skills to cope with the new rules of job search.

If you're unemployed, have been made redundant or are facing career uncertainty then this week will be of interest. Leading experts will give sessions on career management and job searching. Rowan Manahan author of “Where's My Oasis? The Essential Handbook for Everyone Wanting That Perfect Job” will kick off with a session on how to get the edge in the new world of job search. Brian McIvor will speak about career and job detection. John Fitzgerald Career Coach on RTE Series "Rising after Redundancy" will share a proven six step system to create new career opportunities. Award winning brand engagement, digital marketing and social media expert Krishna De will assist you to manage your personal brand online.

The week will also feature clinics on your legal rights in redundancy, a clinic where your CV will be looked at by an expert, an interview workshop and sessions on education. Last years event saw almost 1,000 people visit and feedback was excellent. For further information call 01-449 8500 or visit the website.

News

Europe’s biggest ever investment in R&D

Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Máire Geoghegan-Quinn today announced nearly €6.4 billion of investment in research and development.

The Commissioner, who recently launched the Call for Events for Innovation Dublin 2010, outlined plans to provide 16,000 participants from research organisations, universities and industry with funding under the investment, which will cover a range of scientific disciplines, public policy areas and commercial sectors.

Health will receive more than €600 million, while €1.2 billion will go towards boosting Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research. More than €1.3 billion will be reserved for the best creative scientists selected by the European Research Council and SMEs will receive close to €800 million. The package aims to advance scientific boundaries, increase European competitiveness and help solve broad challenges such as climate change and energy and food security. It is being described as Europe’s biggest ever investment in the research & development. (Source: The Irish Times)

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67 Innovations by Trendwatching

Consumer trends firm Trendwatching recently compiled a list of 67 ‘on-trend’ marketing innovations. Their goal is to provide ‘examples of brands already practicing what the gurus are preaching.’ In putting together the list, they have a shot at describing what innovation means...

“Innovation is not necessarily about people in white coats puttering about in R&D labs. In our current experience economy, marketing innovation is equally important, and often trumps technical innovation. Furthermore, as consumers’ wants are sometimes frivolous, new products and services can be, too. Really, innovation doesn’t have to be so earnest all the time.”

The list, dubbed ‘Innovation Insanity’, is a gleefully mixed bag: bamboo bikes from Ghana, ATMs that offer embedded charity with every withdrawal, 19 different flavoured KitKats (blueberry and soyabean, anyone?), ‘crowdfunding’ third would initiatives, tombstones enhanced with digital data tags, and windows that collect solar energy.

Our favorite though, are the thermo electric wellies that ingeniously charge festival-goers phones. You can check out the article and full list here. Now tell us, what catches your eye? Source: http://www.trendwatching.com. One of the world's leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.

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Globe Forum 2010 – more details announced

This November, as part of Innovation Dublin, Globe Forum are hosting the conference ‘Smarter & Greener Business Innovation for Sustainable Growth’ in the new Docklands Convention Centre.

Globe Forum is an international organization that brings together innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, public sector, cities and regions, “giving them a natural space where breakthrough solutions can occur collaboratively.” The conference will focus on the power of Irish innovation, both at home and globally, and details of the program and confirmed speakers have just been announced. This November 17th and 18th a range of international figures will discuss how Dublin can become a global testbed for innovations and new ideas under heading such as ‘Cities as Innovation Ecosystems’, ‘Financing Innovation in the Marketplace’ and other topics. One of the highlights will be the Onstage Innovator’s Contest, where 10 selected innovators whose solutions have a positive impact on the environment present their company in 60 seconds. The innovators will also reply to questions from a Panel of Experts and the audience. Details of the program, speakers and contest have all just been released online. For more info, click here.

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