For years Dr Alex Cornelissen wanted to start his own business, manufacturing specialist beds, which allow Asthma sufferers to have a good night sleep without symptoms. However, he lacked the funding to develop the idea. As a registered user of the expertiseireland.com portal he benefits from regular email alerts detailing funding opportunities in Ireland. In July 2007, he received an alert regarding a new funding programme. He applied, was successful, and thanks to the expertiseireland.com email alert, has now launched his own business, AMC Innovation.
Receiving the funding has enabled Dr Cornelissen move from helping firms to develop new products, to developing his own innovative new product. “I heard about expertiseireland.com while working as an environmental consultant in the Questor Centre in Queen’s University Belfast through Invest NI and registered immediately in May 2005”, said Dr Cornelissen. “expertiseireland.com” is one of the key Irish information sites that I would use regularly, and it has an additional benefit for registered users of email alerts triggered by new or updated funding calls or changes to expert profiles.”
expertiseireland.com is an advanced online portal, which combines, in one searchable database access to thousands of expert profiles from the third level sector in Ireland, as well as funding information, technology transfer and commercial expertise. The portal’s free funding database provides registered users with information on relevant sources of funding on a local, national and European level. Users receive the additional benefit of email alerts triggered by changes to targeted expert profiles or funding opportunities. The value of receiving relevant alerts is clearly stated by Dr Cornelissen, “This funding has allowed me to start my own business, and anyone wishing to explore new opportunities should use the expertiseireland.com portal - it is a very valuable service for innovators and researchers.”
The funding secured by Dr Cornelissen is from the Transform - Ideas Into Businesses Programme, a one year full-time business incubation programme which is funded by the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation and run jointly by Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland. It is designed to provide those who have an idea for an export focused business with the necessary business skills, expertise, contacts, networks and facilities to establish successful businesses. It will allow ambitious entrepreneurs the time and space to develop their business plan and get their business up and running.
Participants are able to benefit from a comprehensive range of support including:
To access the expertiseireland.com site and register as a user for email alerts on funding and expertise, please go to http://www.expertiseireland.com.