NovaUCD Secures a UCD Global Engagement Seed Fund Award
Professor Dolores O’Riordan, UCD Vice-President for Global Engagement, and UCD Global have announced the recipients of the inaugural UCD Global Engagement Seed Fund Awards. Among the five (5) awardees is Simon Factor, Senior Manager, New Ventures at NovaUCD.
As Ireland’s Global University, bringing the best of the world to Ireland and the best of Ireland to the world lies at the heart of UCD’s mission.
The UCD Global Engagement Seed Fund was established by the UCD Office for Global Engagement to provide support to faculty and staff in developing initiatives and activities which advance that mission.
Applications were invited in three strands; Global Partnerships; Global Events and Seminars; or New Directions, which were designed to encourage innovation and imagination in global engagement activities by facilitating a broad range of applications.
Simon Factor secured an award for a project entitled The NovaUCD China Partner Programme which aims to add an innovation component to the successful teaching and research global engagements that UCD is recognised for.
The goals of this project are to identify and develop key strategic partnerships with China-based innovation platforms connected to leading Chinese universities, venture funds and industrial bases.
Simon Factor, Senior Manager, New Ventures, NovaUCD, said, “I am delighted to have been awarded one of the 5 inaugural UCD Global Engagement Seed Fund Awards and I look forward to progressing with my project. Developing such partnerships will enable NovaUCD to provide a bridge for UCD start-ups and innovators to access this important international market in a way that will increase their chances of success and limit their risk.”
He added, “We are also seeking to engage with venture capitalists, in-market incubator platforms and specialist infrastructure providers who respectively seek to invest in, localize, accelerate and provide office space for start-ups looking to move into the Chinese market.”
Professor Dolores O'Riordan, UCD Vice-President for Global Engagement, said, "I am delighted with the great interest shown in the inaugural Global Engagement Seed Fund. While we would love to be able to fund all of the high-quality proposals received, unfortunately that was not possible. However, I am pleased to say that the successful applications are truly broad ranging and very innovative. They reflect our diverse campus and the many ways in which the UCD community carries out its global engagement. I look forward to their successful endeavours and invite colleagues to apply for next year's call."
The other four awardees are;
Dr Claire Cave, UCD School of Archaeology, for a project entitled, Building Futures: A Samburu/Irish Teaching Collaboration.
Stephie Forde, UCD College of Arts and Humanities, for a project entitled, Bringing Irish Studies to the World.
Dr Brynne Gilmore, UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Systems and Dr Ernesto Vasquez del Aguila, UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work, and Social Justice, for a project entitled, Developing a UCD Global Health Network.
Associate Professor Niamh Pattwell, UCD School of English, Drama and Film, for a project entitled, Teaching and Researching with Medieval Manuscript Fragments.
ENDS
22 April 2020
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: + 353 1 716 3712.