Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) in association with the DCU Ryan Academy invites you to the
SFI Technology Innovation Development Award (TIDA) Pitch off

Why attend?

If you are interested in learning about the talented people and ideas being funded by SFI across the Irish Higher Education Institutes then you should join us at the Science Gallery.  As part of the event, researchers funded under the SFI Technology Innovation Development Award (TIDA) will deliver short accessible pitches in a dynamic competition style format to a panel of judges. The winner and runner up will receive funding from SFI to further support the development of their idea. The event, being held on the occasion of Startup Gathering 2015, will also provide the opportunity to network with policy decision makers across the Irish R&D and enterprise system.

The audience will be addressed by Damien English TD, Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation.  Minister English will also present the winning pitch with their award.

Ben Lang, co-founder of Mapme, Israel, will deliver a keynote address on his journey as a serial entrepreneur. 

Who should attend?

• Researchers interested in commercialising their research and gaining insight into how investors assess opportunties
• Startups with an interest in the talented people and innovative technologies coming from Irish Higher Education Institutes (HEI)
• Members of the investment community seeking a snapshot of research talent and ideas coming through the HEI pipeline
• Members of the public seeking to learn about research being funded by Science Foundation Ireland

About TIDA
The TIDA programme is run by SFI in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland (EI).  The purpose of the joint initiative is to realise greater economic impact from state investments in research.  The programme is designed to enable researchers to focus on the first steps of an applied research project which may have a commercial benefit if further developed.  As part of the TIDA award SFI offers entrepreneurial training to award recipients.  This entrepreneurial training, delivered by the DCU Ryan Academy, culminates in a pitch based competition with finalists receiving funding from SFI.  SFI and the DCU Ryan Academy, as supporters of the Startup Gathering 2015, are delighted to open up the pitch off competition to a wide audience during the week of Startup Gathering 2015.

About Startup Gathering 2015
Set to be one of the biggest startup events in the world, Startup Gathering 2015 will take place across Ireland from the 5th to 10th October, with over 50 events being planned across 5 days, 5 industries and 5 cities, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and Ireland's startup sector to national and international audiences.
Under the theme 'Start, Scale and Succeed from Ireland', Startup Gathering 2015 aims to promote entrepreneurship and help develop world class regional startup hubs around the existing industry strengths in each region to accelerate the growth of startups and scaleups in Ireland.  It is also focused on raising the profile of Ireland’s startup sector to global entrepreneurs, investors and R&D teams.

A major initiative of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2015, and a key building block towards making Ireland a global startup hub by 2020, Startup Gathering 2015 is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.  It is also sponsored by Bank of Ireland, a key strategic partner.

Startup Gathering 2015 is being led by Startup Ireland, a public private not-for-profit partnership dedicated to the goal of making Ireland the best place in the world to create and scale a startup.

For further information or to submit an event for the Startup Gathering, visit:
http://startupireland.ie/startupgathering
#SISG2015

Programme