The Hincks Centre, Ireland’s first centre for entrepreneurship excellence, was established in 2013 to support entrepreneurship in all its forms. Engaging in academic and policy focused research, education and training, the Centre is an integral part of the strong entrepreneurship eco-system across the University.

The Hincks Centre’s vision is to empower people to achieve excellence in entrepreneurship in all its forms. Achieving this vision, the Hincks Centre depends on its team, MTU partners and external stakeholders, funders and supporters. The Centre aims to strengthen and grow its research in all aspects of enterprise, innovation and entrepreneurship development, through collaboration with academics, industry and policymakers. Building on the strong foundation and spirit of entrepreneurship, the Centre continues to deliver excellence in all its activities. Complementing the work of the School of Business, the Hincks Centre plays a key role in driving MTU’s entrepreneurship culture. To follow our vision, the Hincks Centre’s mission is to support entrepreneurship through research, education and training.

Supporting MTU’s vision and mission, and based on the growing success and reputation of the Hincks Centre nationally and internationally, five core values underpin all its activities.

• The Hincks Centre is its people; its team of researchers, educators, administrators, partners (external and internal), its funders and supporters.
• All activities are legal, transparent and are accountable to MTU, partners and funders.
• The Centre operates in an ethical, fair and inclusive way in all it does.
• Projects are socially relevant and add positive value for the end users.
• The Centre values the collaboration of others; with individuals or groups in MTU and beyond.

Research

Designated as a Research Group in 2017, the Centre developed into an important part of CIT producing valuable contributions to knowledge, the student body, the institute and beyond. Our research covers a variety of related topics: start-ups; SMEs; social enterprise; education; innovation and the public sector. The aim of our research activity is to further understand how entrepreneurship contributes to economic growth, competitiveness and social wellbeing. It underpins entrepreneurship training and education activities.

The Centre has an excellent track record of project collaborations, as project lead and as partner, on National, European and Internationally co-funded projects. The Centre has secured over €4 million in European funding through Erasmus+, Interreg Europe, Horizon2020, Interreg Northern Periphery & Arctic Programme and the European Social Fund.

We have a strong International focus with research partners in most countries in Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Vietnam and Thailand.  If you are interested in collaborating with us, please contact us.

Education & Training

The Hincks Centre led the MTU team who were awarded the prestigious DELTA Award for Disciplinary Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Assessment in 2018 and again in 2021. 

We continue to develop initiatives in the area of entrepreneurship education focusing on education and accreditation of entrepreneurial programmes and modules, and developing innovative approaches to embedding entrepreneurial thinking into the curricula.

We support a number of Research Masters and PhD students. Please contact us if you are interested in researching for a PhD or Masters in the broad areas of entrepreneurship or innovation.