DCU launches its Fusion Programme which matches entrepreneurs to research expertise
27 May 2021
Launch your next great business idea with Fusion
Do you have a great business idea with global potential that has technology challenges and requires significant funding?
DCU’s Fusion Programme may be the solution for you
Three steps to Fusion
Find, Fund, Launch
The formula for building a successful start-up is always complex. You have a great idea and an entrepreneurial mindset but you also need access to technical skills and of course, funding to bring it all together. Through its flagship Fusion Programme, DCU aims to match leaders with breakthrough ideas to the best technologists and the right funding. Fusion works with entrepreneurs who have early-stage technology concepts, offering them the state-of-the-art research and development resources they need, to bring their product to market. For the selected projects, grant funding will be provided to build the technology, typically over an 18- month period. Successful applicants will be brought into the university and matched to a talented team of researchers with the appropriate expertise. Ongoing support, training and mentoring will all be provided throughout the project, before finally spinning out a new company led by the entrepreneur. DCU has been funding researchers to create new start-up companies for many years. DCU’s Fusion Programme enables the university to increase the pool of ideas by finding great entrepreneurs and innovations from outside the academic environment.
Talent, Time, Resources
The success of DCU’s Fusion Programme lies in our ability to tailor the talent, time and resources we offer to the needs of each business idea. We can optimise your chances of success by providing access to a range of assets including:
- Deep expertise and resources not readily available to most start-ups.
- Grant funding that allows us to hire the best and the brightest.
- Additional support and training, including assistance with business and financial planning, pitch coaching, introductions to investors, and mentoring bysenior researchers and businessleaders.
- A simple and transparent application and selection process.
Fusion Programme Success Stories
We have a pipeline of great projects, some of whom are already successful spin-out companies.
Here are just two examples of successful projects from the DCU Fusion Programme.
Exit Entry
Lewize Crothers (pictured above), CEO of Exit Entry, is a successful graduate of the DCU Fusion Programme. Lewize joined DCU in 2019 to build a software solution that helps students to connect with opportunities. Exit Entry addresses the global problem of students ending up on the wrong third level courses and graduates ending up in the wrong jobs. The platform is a low-cost, self-service, scientifically validated solution for schools, colleges and re-skilling that is revolutionising the global recruitment industry. The Exit Entry app is free to download in the app store.
Digital Gait Labs
Dr. Aidan Boran (pictured above), an innovator with more than thirty patents and publications, joined DCU from Bell Labs Ireland to create GaitKeeper. The platform is based on science, which shows that the way we walk (our gait) is an excellent predictor of the onset of many physical and neurological illnesses. It puts a gait analysis lab in your pocket, which allows clinicians to create an objective analysis of the way people move, by recording a simple video on a smartphone.GaitKeeper is being tested in Tallaght University Hospital by consultant geriatricians and physiotherapists, where it is proving to be an excellent tool for monitoring and managing patients’ health. Aidan is looking to extend the solution from human to animal health, through early detection and prevention of lameness in cows.
DCU’s Fusion Programme was created by Paddy O’Boyle (pictured above), Director of Business Development for ICT in DCU Invent. Having worked in industry for many years, including with Bell Labs in the US, Paddy actively promotes novel approaches to open innovation. Paddy has been involved in over 30 start-ups from DCU’s ICT research to date. Fusion has been designed to build on this success and to expand to all research areas.
Innovation in Action
Universities have many talented researchers with deep knowledge across a broad range of topics. These researchers specialise in solving technical challenges and building products with the latest
technologies. Valuable market feedback informs them about what products they need to build. The DCU Fusion Programme puts the Open Innovation concept into action, by combining your business expertise with our technical knowhow, to create new and innovative products and services.
DCU – Ireland's University of Enterprise and Transformation
DCU has always been closely aligned with the needs of industry, working with companies on collaborative projects and through an impressive list of spin-out companies. Innovation is in DCU’s DNA and within the university, there are units to support these activities.
DCU Invent is the first point of contact for people and companies engaging with the university. The team enables researchers to get funding to develop new technologies and companies to create impact through collaborative research projects.
DCU Alpha is the university’s impressive innovation campus, hosting a vibrant cluster of research-intensive technology companies with a strong focus on IoT.
U-Start is the university’s student entrepreneur start-up initiative and is open to all students. Touchtech Payments, recently acquired by Stripe, was formed through U-Start.
DCU Expertise
ICT - Data Analytics and AI, Software, Hardware, Networking Technologies, Sports and Wellbeing.
Manufacturing and Engineering - Sensors, Water, Advanced Manufacturing, Sustainable Energy.
Life Sciences - Nanoresearch, Microfluidics and Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Therapeutics and Delivery, Cellular Biotechnology.
Is Fusion a Fit for You?
We are looking for specific people and ideas!
- Have you an idea for a business that is based on technology?
- Do you have evidence that your idea has commercial potential?
- Are you willing to join the university as the paid full-time leader of the project?
- Can you commit to leading the new start-up company at the end of the project term?
How to Apply to Fusion
Contact: fusionprogramme@dcu.ie for an application form
Contact Maria 087 - 066 2581 for any enquiries