FDBusiness.com

Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, is holding a symposium on technology transfer on Tuesday, 24 November 2015 at the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin, Ireland. The aim of this event is to highlight how important science-based innovation is to the growth of the food sector.

The symposium will explore international best practice in technology transfer, challenges and opportunities including organisational structures, processes, and policies related to technology transfer, and the application of these learnings to the food sector.

It will provide an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to engage with one another to ensure that technology transfer within Ireland is progressed and applied successfully for the development of innovation within the Irish Food Sector.

PROGRAMME

9.00 am – Registration and Tea/Coffee
10.00 am – Opening
RDI as a key driver for growth in the Irish food sector
Dr. Frank O’Mara, Director of Research, Teagasc, Ireland

Challenges in commercialising public sector research
Prof. James Cunningham, Professor of Strategic Management, Newcastle Business School, United Kingdom

11.00 am – International Examples of Best Practice: Lessons to be Learned for the Food Sector
Commercialising RPO research and innovation: A US university perspective
Lesley Millar-Nicholson, Director of the Office of Technology Management, University of Illinois, United States

European Key Enabling Technologies (KETs): Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP)
Dr. Lieve Hoflack, Project Manager, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plan, Belgium

Identifying opportunities and building cooperation between innovation leaders
Rhonda Smith, Strategist and Trainer External Relations & Media Communications, Minerva Communications UK Ltd., United Kingdom

12.30 pm – Lunch

1.15 pm – Enhancing Framework Conditions for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The framework conditions conducive to effective technology transfer
Dr. Mario Cervantes, Senior Economist and Head of Secretariat for the OECD’s Working Party on Innovation and Technology Policy, OECD, France

Strengthening Ireland’s market insights-driven research capacity
Dr. Christian Stafford, Research & Innovation Division, Enterprise Ireland, Ireland

Combined innovation policy: Linking scientific and practical knowledge in innovation systems
Prof. Magnus Nilsson, Associate Professor at the Department of Business Administration and Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE), Lund University, Sweden

2.15 pm – Challenges, Appropriate Channels and Food Industry Innovation Needs
Knowledge transfer channels most appropriate for the food sector
Dr. Kerstin Lienemann, Head of the Brussels’ Office of the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL), Belgium

Building effective public and private collaborations
Dr. Ann Schmierer, Director for Industry Partnering, Oregon State University, United States

Technology transfer in the Irish food sector: The Teagasc story
Declan Troy, Director of Technology and Knowledge Transfer for the Food Programme, Teagasc, Ireland

Innovation needs of the food sector
Declan McDonnell, R&D Manager, ABP Food Group, Ireland

3.35 pm – Panel Discussion: Lessons for the Irish Food Sector
Panellists: Richard Howell (Head of Research & Codex Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine), Dr. Mary Shire (Vice President Research, University of Limerick), Colin Gordon, Chair of Food and Drink Industries Ireland and member of the Consumer Foods Board of Bord Bia
4.30pm – Conference Close