Innovate Limerick off to flying start with cluster conference

Innovate Limerick is a Limerick Council company accelerating the innovation & incubation ecosystem in Limerick.

Innovate Limerick aims to make Limerick City and County the “start-up” capital of Ireland. It aims to help and support all enterprises and create an innovation networking system for all new business’s. It aims to create a vibrant city centre with plans to develop Arthurs Quay already on their website.

Innovate Limerick hold cluster conferences, help to provide a supportive office space that will facilitate and encourage higher levels of innovation across the various stakeholders and sectors in Limerick and integrate the innovation activities of both the Limerick 2030 Economic Strategy (2013) and the Limerick Regeneration Framework Implementation Plan (2013) and deliver on this socio-economic innovation agenda.

Innovate Limerick in association with HED-SO Fribourg will present the 3rd International Cluster Conference which is being held outside of Switzerland for the first time in Limerick, Ireland on Wednesday 30th September and Thursday 1st October 2015. Key international speakers, from a range of disciplines such as Dr. Christian Ketels of Harvard Business School, will be exploring this year’s conference theme of “Clusters as Driver of Competitiveness: Development Issues”.

advertisement

advertisement

advertisement

The continuing dominant economic challenge is to ensure that countries and regions create long term, sustainable jobs. Economic clusters that interconnect firms and supporting organisations, are recognised as key central drivers and are a valuable source of much needed innovation, knowledge transfer and are economic drivers within regions and of firms.

The aim of the conference is share best practices, to promote knowledge exchanges and identify future opportunities for clusters as drivers of competitiveness. You can register and sign up to the cluster conference programme on their website (link below).

These plans build on previous reports including the Mid West Task Force Report (2009) and the Forfás Mid West Regional Competitiveness Agenda (2010), which argue that Limerick’s innovation ecosystem should be more open and collaborative to help transition Limerick to a high value added economy.

The new company will seek to accelerate innovation in Limerick by providing a supportive environment that will facilitate and encourage higher levels of innovation across the various stakeholders and sectors in Limerick.

Limerick 2030 calls for the development of:

• Incubation space for post incubation
• Next stage
• High potential start-ups
• Emerging FDI start-ups
• Corporate ventures
• VC funds and sectoral/cluster initiatives a
• Special programme delivery

Limerick Regeneration Implementation Framework details plans for the creation of a National Social Innovation Hub in Limerick and details comprehensive plans for the creation of a new ‘medical Village’ for Limerick.

In order to address the issues as outlined in the Limerick 2030 Plan and the Limerick Regeneration Framework Implementation Plan, Innovate Limerick Ltd will deliver on two strategic pillars:

1. Economic Innovation
2. Social Innovation 

With key goals across each pillar including:

• Establishing the Limerick Innovation Hub
• Encouraging innovation partnerships/linkages
• Establishing the National Social Innovation Centre
• Developing the Limerick Medical Village
• Supporting agri-innovation
• Doubling the number of firms in incubation and in receipt of new

Innovate Limerick has an active Twitter page where you can ask questions and find out more here.

Register for the cluster conference programme here.

Check out the Innovate Limerick website here.