Managing a commercially relevant Research Intensive SME Dr' David McDonald, GM VP Engineering Intune

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Managing a commercially relevant Research
Intensive SMEDr. David McDonald, GM/ VP
EngineeringIntune Technologies

• 5th April 2006 Royal Irish
  Academy/Enterprise Ireland Academia/Industry
  workshop

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Brief company overview

• Founded 1999
• Located Dublin, Ireland
• Employees 20
• Core competences Network and sensing
  application of tunable laser technologies
• ISO compliance Yes
• Company technical
• publications gt 25

• Our Mission
• To release the true potential of light as an
  information asset
• through delivery of world-leading dynamic laser
  technology solutions

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Brief personal overview

• Bachelor Engineering (UCD) - 88
• PhD Photonics (UCD) 94
• MSc Technology Management(UCD) 00
• Lightband Comms 88 90
• Optronics Ireland (UCD and TCD) 90 00
• Intune Technologies 00 to date
• MIEE, MIEEE
• EU IST programme evaluator
• EI CFTD evaluator
• Over 40 technical publications and eight patents

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Product families
AltoNet1200 Networking
AltoWave1100 Sensing
AltoWave3500 Spectroscopy
AltoWave5500 Sensing
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Where is Ireland from a collaborative RD
perspective?
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Irish University collaborations and context

• University College Cork (SFI)
• Dublin City University (SFI, POC direct
  collaboration)
• Trinity College Dublin (ESA, direct
  collaboration)
• Univeristy College Dublin (IST)

Science Foundation Ireland and further SME
involvement in CSETs should be considered. The
coherent scale is attractive to Industry.
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International University collaborations and
context

• Univeristy Politecnica de Catalunya
• University of Valencia
• University of Gent
• Technical University of Eindhoven
• Technical Univerisyt of Denmark
• Technical Univeristy of Munich
• Rice University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Currently more opportunities and incentives for
collaboration outside of Ireland. Go to where
the producers/users of technology are.
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The HPSU SME enviroment

• Cost base disadvantages
• Finance disadvantages
• Small finite pool attracting talent
• Market capture and maintenance
• Can the above be applied to research groups in
  Irish Universities?

Need to leverage
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Collaborative drivers for an SME

• Pan European (International) context for national
  RD
• Collaborate with leading companies and
  institutions interaction with the international
  technology ecosystem
• Lead user inputs solicitation throughout the
  design process
• Means of technology demonstration to end users in
  a collaborative forum exposure to the
  marketplace
• Industrially driven forum for new
  technology/product research and development
• Social and relationship building setting for
  technology acquisition
• Technology validation test-beds!
• Funding support for RD.

Research and development is more than just that!
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For consideration

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• Remember many high technology SMEs have
  sustainable long term needs for RD
  collaborative or not
• Control of core IP, through whatever vechicle,
  is a key requirement
• Participation of Irish SMEs/Industry in
  influencing the research agenda some
  universities are much more open to this than
  others.
• Strong personal relationships between Academic
  and industrial personnel work
• Technology transfer empower and encourage the
  technology producers

Technology transfer empower and encourage the
technology producers
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For consideration

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• IP is valuable when valued. Maintain realism.
• Irish SME Industry is quite sophisticted in
  Technology planning and introduction, especially
  over the last 5 years.
• How can companies effectively sell Industrial
  Research and Development collaboration to Irish
  scientists? Is there a national dovetailed
  approach to the various Research areas (applied,
  blue sky etc.) and how does Irish indusrty
  interact with each of these today?
• Academia and Industry frequently speak different
  languages and is this a barrier to building
  sustainable research programmes? Yes
•  

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International and National Agencies Projects
Thank you