03 May, 2017

Cork Institute of Technology, operator of the highly successful business incubator, the Rubicon and working with the Institute’s Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence has secured Intereg Europe funding to work with partners in Spain, France, Portugal, Lithuania, Finland, Latvia and Italy. Together they will investigate the components of innovative regions, building successful enterprises and driving growth.

The European funding is for a project called EcoRis3 - Policies and Measures to Support Regional Innovation Ecosystems. EcoRis3, which is funded by the Interreg Europe Programme, will further extend the international reach of CIT, which is working now with a wide range of partners in almost every country in Europe, together with a growing presence is South East Asia.

The Ecoris3 project will see the establishment of a coordinating group, representing development agencies, educationalists, researchers and enterprises from across Cork and Kerry to examine how improvements can be brought to strengthen the region’s ability and agility, as it continues to drive Smart Specialisation.

The project will be managed by Dr. John Hobbs of the CIT School of Business, an Economist who co-developed V-LINC software with Dr. Eoin Byrne and  which analyses different aspects of economic connectivity and clustering across regions.

Speaking of the funding announcement, Josette O'Mullane, Industrial Liaison Manager, said “CIT and the Rubicon work in very close co-operation with a wide range of regional businesses and the Institute is an important catalyst for growth and employment creation in the region. We are looking forward to partnering on ecoRIS3 to share and exchange best practice across Europe to maximise the innovation supports for industry in the South West of Ireland. For over two decades the Institute has been focusing on emerging technologies, putting that expertise and research at the disposal of entrepreneurs and SME’s across the region, with significant effect. The levels of connectivity between the institute and large and small enterprises in the region is remarkable and is a strong underlying factor in the design and delivery of a wide range of CIT innovation services."

Welcoming the project, Orla Flynn, CIT’s Vice President for External Affairs said “The Institute is a key player in education, research, fostering entrepreneurship and job creation. It is this ecosystem which has made the South-West such a successful location for developing indigenous high tech companies and in attracting record levels of inward investment.”