Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) Impact Awards 2020.
This award ceremony is a feature on all research and innovation centres calendars in Ireland each year as they recognise the knowledge transfer in Irish higher education institutions with an impact on society. Two of the categories celebrate the success from the commercialisation of academic research through collaboration with industry. The third category, new for 2020, recognises the significant activities undertaken by higher education institutions and their knowledge transfer activities that have provided a meaningful impact in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers in the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) received a nomination in the ‘COVID19 Response Impact’ category. They developed CoronaVRus, a virtual reality (VR) application aimed at children that can be used as an educational tool to showcase, educate and demonstrate COVID-19 safety guidelines in an intuitive manner. The application is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) friendly and offers a fun method of education to build awareness in a safe and interactive environment. The second nod went to the South-East Advanced Manufacturing (SEAM) research centre in WIT and have been shortlisted in the ‘Industry Engagement Impact’ category for their work with Keltech to identify large cost saving potential in tank design for a significant client project that the company was engaged in.
Speaking about these shortlisted projects is Dr. James O’Sullivan, Manager of the Technology Transfer Office in WIT. “WIT have a long standing positive relationship with KTI and are a terrific advocate for our multidisciplinary approach to research in WIT. Receiving two nominations in the KTI Impact Awards is a welcomed result and a testament to our partnership with industry and society, particularly over the past number of months.”
The winners of the KTI Impact Awards 2020 will be announced at a virtual ceremony on Thursday 26th November.
Covid-19 Response Award category:
- Waterford IT: for the development of CoronVRus a virtual reality (VR) application aimed at children that can be used as an educational tool to showcase, educate and demonstrate COVID-19 safety guidelines in an intuitive manner. The application is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) friendly and offers a fun method of education to build awareness in a safe and interactive environment.
- NUI Galway: for the development of Familylink, a project that connects patients with their loved ones, against a backdrop of COVID-19 with restrictions on visits to healthcare settings. NUIG worked with industry partners Cisco and IBM to deliver a state-of-the-art video call system specifically for the ICU setting.
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland: for the development a web based clinical support tool that incorporates a risk-assessment score for COVID-19 patients which allows healthcare professionals to treat and monitor the progression of their condition. Developed jointly with S3 Connected Health and with University College Dublin, the tool has been used in six hospitals by 300 doctors.
Industry Engagement Award category
- Waterford Institute of Technology (SEAM) & Keltech: WIT experts in computational fluid dynamics worked with company partner Keltech to identify large cost saving potential in tank design for a significant client project that the company was engaged in with German manufacturer Atlas GmbH. Keltech is a Waterford-based supplier of components and assemblies.
- Trinity College Dublin & Intel Ireland:Intel Ireland has an enduring research relationship with TCD partly formalised in a highly successful collaborative research agreement between the university and SFI centre AMBER from 2013-2019. Building on this success, Trinity and Intel have successfully put in place a new collaborative research agreement to ensure the relationship will continue for the next five years.
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland & Integra: RCSI’s collaboration with Integra, which included TCD, has resulted in two new technologies that have proven highly effective in repairing damaged nerves in pre-clinical trials. This development is expected to underpin the next two decades of clinical therapies for peripheral nerve repair. Integra is a world leader in medical technology, with over 4,400 employees worldwide including nearly 91 in Tullamore.
For more information visit https://www.knowledgetransferireland.com/News/KTI-announce-Impact-Award-shortlist-.html]]>