Read the programme here

Guest speakers includeD:

Professor Sir Michael Brady, Information Engineering, University of Oxford

Dr Nigel Burton, President, Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK

Professor James McLaughlin, NIBEC, University of Ulster

"Engineering innovation within an intrapreneurship model", i.e. developing innovation through the serial, sustainable development of new ideas (within larger organizations) and people capable of driving them forward in the market place without the risks associated with stepping outside your area of expertise to form start-ups. We pose the question: is Engineering Innovation served well with an intrapreneurship model in Ireland (i.e. within universities and larger multi-nationals)? One could argue that one model to keep foreign direct investment would be for Irish engineering research teams to act as intrapreneurs within these organizations. Likewise intrapreneurship has a key innovation role in developing a pipeline of innovation in the university sector.
 

A key aim of this event was to act as a counter point to the discussions that are currently the focus of the innovation economy and to add to the national debate surrounding such policies. With investment in fundamental science and engineering research through Science Foundation Ireland over the past decade, how can the investment during the next decade improve performance in both research quality and but also impact innovation? A key aim is to build on existing initiatives (specifically the recent IAE paper "Engineering Research in the Irish Economy") and to be looking forward in a positive way rather than focus on past mistakes.
 

Sponsors:

Professor Michael Brady FRS FEng

Mike Brady is BP Professor of Information Engineering in the Department of Engineering Science as well as a Fellow of Keble College in the University of Oxford.

He joined Oxford University as the foundation Professor of Information Engineering in August 1985 from MIT, where he had been Senior Research Scientist in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. During his time in Oxford, he and his colleagues have established the Robotics Research Laboratory and, more recently, as his research interests shifted to Medical Image Analysis and minimally-invasive surgery, he and Alison Noble have established the Medical Vision Laboratory (MVL)

During his time in Oxford, Mike has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers, a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, and a Fellow of the American Association of Artificial Intelligence. His Oxford chair was endowed by BP (£1.2M). Mike was awarded the Faraday Medal for the year 2000, and a Third Millennium medal of the IEEE. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Essex, Manchester, Liverpool, Southampton, and the Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse. He is an honorary professor at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He was Professeur Invité at INRIA, Sophia Antipolis during 1994-5 and 1996-7, attached to the Epidaure Research Group headed by Professor Nicholas Ayache.
 

Dr N J Burton BSc(Eng) PhD

Nigel Burton became Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of PetroSaudi Oil Services in January 2011. Prior to this he was CFO and executive board member of Advanced Power AG from May 2008, which he joined after leading the successful sale of Granby Oil and Gas plc, a UK based oil and gas exploration and production company which Nigel floated on AIM in 2005. Nigel was previously Chief Financial Officer of WILink plc, an international web based financial information and corporate communications business, from 2000.

His earlier career included over 14 years of energy and utilities experience in equity research and investment banking at leading City institutions including UBS Warburg and Deutsche Bank, principally as the Managing Director responsible for the energy and utilities industries. At S G Warburg Nigel initiated research coverage of UK and European electricity and water utilities, and acted as joint Government broker to the flotation of the regional electricity companies and generators.
He was rated the top UK utilities analyst by the utility companies and the top European utilities analyst by institutional investors. As a corporate financier at UBS Warburg and Deutsche Bank he originated and executed mandates including privatisations, mergers, acquisitions and financings of energy and utility businesses in over 20 different countries.

Nigel graduated in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University College London, before undertaking a PhD in Acoustic Imaging. He previously worked in scientific instrument manufacturing, and is a Chartered Electrical Engineer (FIET).

Nigel is an active angel investor, focusing on technology, media and energy businesses. Nigel has been actively involved in the IET for over 30 years, including as Chairman of London Younger Members, London Centre, the national Younger Members Committee, the Audit and Investment Committees, the Power Trading and Control TPN. He is currently IET President and a member of the Board of Trustees.
 

Professor James McLaughlin

Professor James McLaughlin, a physicist, is currently the Director of the Engineering Research Institute (ERI) and Director of NIBEC.
His present research interests address nanotechnology and it’s application in areas such as point-of-care sensors and medical diagnostics. These interests involve the integration of nanotechnology, sensors and microfluidics. The main focus for this research is in the area of sensor diagnostic fabrication. Professor McLaughlin has led key developments in the technology of sensor materials and in particular it’s impact into the connected health industry. This work has had a strong influence on the Universities commercialisation of IP relating to Connected Health companies, as well as providing the basis for a range of new biomedical sensing platforms.

He has over three hundred publications, numerous successful patents and achieved outstanding paper awards at international conferences, as well as being honoured as an invited keynote speaker at numerous International Conferences.

In recent years Professor McLaughlin’s over-arching strategy is aimed at developing a strong Connected Health Platform within the University of Ulster. This work involves linking bioengineering and computing sciences with sensor technology developed within NIBEC and thus encouraging clinically-led research initiatives to benefit the healthcare sector.
Professor McLaughlin has attracted over £25M of funding to establish research that has led to the establishment of NIBEC, NICAM, NanotecNI and BEST. These centres have now led to a vibrant Research Institute (ERI) with over eighty researchers carrying out both basic and applied research in topics. He has been awarded funding from EPSRC, EU, NSF, DOH, DEL, HEA, Leverhulme Trust, RDA’s and various funding bodies.

He is the co-founder of award winning Intelesens Ltd. (formerly ST&D Ltd.) which specialises in the design and fabrication of wireless vital-signs monitoring systems, as well as incorporating new micro- and nano-scale technologies, thus enabling the miniaturisation and integration of low-cost medical device systems. He is also a Director with Noribic, SiSAF (Chief Scientific Officer) and the European Connected Health Campus (Chair).

Responsibilities:
Professor McLaughlin is a Member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and he represents the University on panels such as; RAE 2008 Metallurgy and Materials Assessment Panel; Northern Ireland Industry and Science Panel (MATRIX); NanoIreland Task Force/Chairs the Nanomaterials Panel; Advisory panel to MSSI; as well as numerous local organisations. He is also a well known conference organiser; and has membership of a range of International Conference Committees.

He is responsible for teaching Advanced Medical Sensors, Biomedical Physics and Bio Instrumentation.