An Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, TD, declared the CoLab centre officially open on 21 September 2009.

CoLab (formerly BDC) provides modern office space, business mentoring, access to specialist equipment and research teams for tenant companies.  There are currently 12 start-up businesses that are already located at the centre which employ a total of 28 people. 

Unveiling the commemorative plaque in CoLab the Tánaiste said, “CoLab is a superb asset to the local economy in Donegal and the North West region.  I am delighted to see that the CoLab tenants are already developing innovative products and services including computer games, flight navigation, currency trading, medical devices, digital publishing, web applications and direct marketing solutions.”

She continued, “Just like the other 20 incubation centres in Ireland which between them house 230 companies and employ over 1,000 people, we look forward to seeing these technology-intensive firms grow and graduate out of the incubation centre and into the local economy, to provide well paid employment for the people of the North West region.”

The Tánaiste finished by stating that, “Ireland has to be an ‘innovation island’, we must find ways to be faster, better, quicker to deliver to customers and markets.”

Paul Hannigan, President, thanked the Tánaiste for opening CoLab and emphasised that the centre will “provide a home, and support, to knowledge-based companies so they can grow in a supportive innovative learning environment and provide a hub where local businesses can come together to draw on each others resources and the educational resources of LYIT.”

He said, “That innovation isn’t an alien concept to LYIT, we’ve been working behind the scenes to create links between industry, research and staff, for some time.  CoLab is the culmination of this.”

Of the 12 companies in CoLab, 11 have developed high-tech software and web technology services.  Entrepreneur Gerry Burke is CEO of the twelfth company - Synergy Flow - and is in the process of establishing this medical devices company in Letterkenny with support through the Enterprise Ireland business partner’s programme. 

Mr Burke said, “CoLab has been a great help at this very early stage in my company formation by providing a first class modern facility with access to entrepreneurially-orientated professionals in CoLab itself, LYIT and the wider community.”

Aernav, another of the CoLab companies, is developing an electronic flight bag for pilots, a lightweight hand held device that will replace the cumbersome suitcase of flight manuals, maps and navigational material that pilots currently have to carry from flight to flight.  The company plans to launch its product to the US and European markets in 2010.

Frank Ryan, Chief Executive of Enterprise Ireland, said, “Supporting regional enterprise is one of Enterprise Ireland’s key priorities, now more than ever before.  CoLab, as one of Enterprise Ireland’s campus incubators, is one of our main instruments for supporting entrepreneurs to start up new companies and create high-value jobs.  According to a recent independent evaluation of Enterprise Ireland’s Campus Incubation Programme, 91% of tenants in incubators intend to remain in their region after moving on from the centre which is good news for Donegal.  After all, incubation is more than a building, it’s a dynamic process.”

CoLab brings to 21 the number of campus incubation centres funded by the Tánaiste’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.  This integrated research and incubation facility received €2.5 million in funding from Enterprise Ireland and a further €1 million from the Department of Education and Science.  It expands on the existing footprint of the Institute’s existing Business Development Centre (BDC) enterprise facility.

The CoLab incubation facility was co-funded by the Irish Government and the EU under the National Development Plan 2007-2013, and the European Union Regional Development Fund respectively.

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