9th December 2015
● DCU ALPHA announces plans to support 100 companies and 800 jobs over the next three years with a focus on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies
● Irish start-up, Neosfar, announces 30 new jobs and a state of the art R&D facility
● DCU ALPHA becomes European base for NIIT Ltd, a multinational digital learning technology company
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, has today (Wednesday) unveiled details of the next phase of development for DCU ALPHA (formerly DCU Innovation Campus).
DCU Alpha [@DCUAlpha] is an innovation cluster which has become home to more than 30 companies and 350 high-tech jobs since its establishment in late 2013, following the transfer of the old Enterprise Ireland site to Dublin City University under the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs. The office, laboratory and industrial research facility in DCU Alpha has evolved into a group of innovative companies actively bridging the digital and physical divide, with new IoT technologies. DCU Alpha now plans to grow to 100 companies and 800 jobs over the next three years under its new brand identity, double the amount envisaged under the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs.
The first expansions under the new identity are the significant 30 new jobs announcement and R&D facility by Neosfar, an innovative Irish IoT company and the confirmation by Indian software multinational, NIIT Ltd, that its new ‘European Delivery Centre’ will be located at DCU Alpha.
The Alpha location has become a hot bed of next generation technologies over the last two years. The tenant and partner line-up features a mix of companies supported by the Department of Jobs - Enterprise Ireland-backed high potential start-ups, successful indigenous tech SMEs and IDA supported multinationals across a variety of sectors including cleantech, wearable sensors, connected health, industrial automation and machine-to-machine communications.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Bruton TD, said: “Two thirds of all new jobs are created by start-ups in their first five years of existence – that is why as part of the Action Plan for Jobs we are putting place a range of measures to support entrepreneurs. Crucial in this is incubator and accelerator spaces and innovation clusters - facilities for companies to locate in their early years of existence where they can have access to supports, mentoring and crucially where they can be close to other entrepreneurs to share experiences and bounce ideas off.
“I was delighted to launch the DCU Innovation Campus in 2013 as part of our Action Plan for Jobs – and it is hugely encouraging to see today that they have doubled their ambitions. Today’s announcement that DCU Alpha plans to grow to 100 companies and 800 jobs in the next three years is a huge boost for the north side of Dublin, and a great indication of what is possible for start-up companies with access to the right supports”.
Also speaking at the launch, CEO of Neosfar, Mark McCarville added, “We are delighted to announce these highly skilled jobs as we embark on servicing the burgeoning IoT sector from our new base in DCU Alpha. We already know and work with many of the companies based here and that cluster or cross-fertilisation opportunity, coupled with the access to graduate talent and key researchers in DCU, made this location an ideal one from our perspective. We look forward to moving into our custom designed engineering lab and office space over the coming weeks and we are already well progressed in terms of hiring the key staff we need.”
Spanish Lalla, President of NIIT’s Corporate Learning Group outlined the rationale behind their move saying, “Europe is an important market for us and Ireland was our country of choice for our European Delivery Centre. As soon as we engaged with DCU, we knew that Alpha was the right location in terms of its culture of innovation and the nearby access to key research centres and the availability of creative and technical talent in the main University.”
President of DCU Professor Brian MacCraith, highlighting the University’s ongoing commitment to engagement and innovation partnerships with industry stated, “DCU Alpha is rapidly becoming recognised as a cornerstone of DCU’s reputation as Ireland’s University of Enterprise. It has been encouraging to see the high level of engagement by businesses large and small over the last two years as they leverage the research, talent and support of DCU.
The next three years are going to be equally as exciting as we look to grow the amount of partner companies from 30 to 100 and continue to expand the number of jobs supported here as well as the number of innovation partnerships between the University and our industry partners.”
About DCU Alpha
DCU Alpha is a nine acre, 200,000 square feet office, laboratory and industrial research facility in Glasnevin, approx. 800m from the main Dublin City University campus. The site was originally established as the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards (IIRS) and was formerly occupied by Enterprise Ireland along with SEAI and NSAI. It is now home to over 30 highly innovative domestic and international companies working on the next generation of technologies that bridge the digital and physical divide (the Internet of Things) across clean tech, machine-to-machine communications, sensor tech, wearables, ICT, Industrial automation and connected hardware. The tenant line-up includes multinationals Siemens, NIIT, Veolia, Fujitsu and VSP Global, as well as high growth indigenous tech companies such as Shimmer Sensing, Neosfar, Novaerus and Exergyn. DCU Alpha is home to Ireland’s only dedicated hardware hackathon space and will soon be home to TechShop – the world’s foremost commercial ‘makerspace' and rapid prototyping facility. www.dcualpha.ie
About Neosfar
Neosfar is a vertically integrated Internet of Things solutions provider specialising in cellular, short range wireless and satellite products and solutions. Neosfar design and manufacture products which provide Wi-Fi and data access in mobile environments such as buses and aeroplanes. Neosfar offer design and development services to clients who wish to develop reliable, internationally certified M2M and IoT devices for the global transport sector and other industries. The company’s HQ is located in DCU Alpha in Dublin, with offices in Minneapolis and San Diego in the USA.
About NIIT
NIIT is a publicly listed company, which was established in 1981 and is headquartered in Gurgaon, India, employing about 3,000 people in over 40 countries with primary locations in India, the United States, Europe and China. The focus of this announcement is NIIT’s Corporate Learning Group (CLG) which delivers comprehensive managed training services including Custom Curriculum Design and Content Development, Learning Administration, Learning Delivery, Strategic Sourcing, Learning Technology, and Advisory Services.
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors
In addition to the above announcements, the launch event also featured a technology showcase by a selection of DCU Alpha companies specialising in wearables, cloud, Internet of Things, clean tech and health tech. In alphabetical order:
- Ambisense - Ambisense design and manufacture autonomous, ‘in-field’, Internet of Things analytical instruments for monitoring gas
- Exergyn - Exergyn is prototyping a groundbreaking new engine that converts waste heat to electricity utilising shape memory alloy technology.
- Neosfar - Neosfar is a vertically integrated Internet of Things hardware and services provider specialising in cellular, short range wireless and satellite solutions for mobile environments such as planes and automobiles.
- NIIT - NIIT is a global leader in Skills and Talent Development, offering digital learning technology and training solutions to corporations, institutions, and individuals in over 40 countries.
- Novaerus - Novaerus uses a patented plasma technology to purify air — aiming to reduce airborne infections such as MRSA.
- NuWave - NuWave is the Internet of Things for Air - a complete hardware and software wireless sensor system for monitoring air quality from anywhere.
- Shimmer - Shimmer is a leading provider of clinical grade wearable wireless sensing technology enables enterprises to reduce risk, cost, and time to market for sensor based digital health solutions.
For additional information, interview and image requests, please contact:
For DCU
Eimear Brady
Communications Officer
Dublin City University
T: +353 1 700 5656
M: +353 87 2604085
E: eimear.brady@dcu.ie
For DCU Alpha
Róisín Ní Mhórdha
Impression PR
Mobile: +353 (0)87 249 1738
impressionpr@me.com
@PRRo
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