The Shanghai Expo 2010 awarded the students with a €3,600 cash prize, an all-expenses three-night stay in Shanghai (including access to the World Expo) and mentoring with representatives of leading international companies.

Celebrating their win the team, Kai Hermsen, Tineke Franssen and Karel Vanacker, jointly said, “We all have different backgrounds and nationalities, share the affinity for entrepreneurship and saw this competition as a unique opportunity to combine our skills in order to create a sustainable venture for megacities. We enjoyed the process leading to our final business proposal very much because it was an outstanding chance to learn a lot about the challenges of megacities and to become creative in finding problems to solve these.”

“UCD Smurfit School is proud to be part of the CEMS alliance and to be Ireland’s only university to offer the world’s no. 1 Master in Management program,” said Prof Tom Begley, Dean, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. “We congratulate the winning team on their fantastic achievement and their success is testimony of the quality and calibre of students this prestigious programme attracts.”

Involving more than 150 universities from around the world and focusing on the Shanghai Expo theme of “Better City, Better Life”, the aim of the competition was to raise awareness among business students of sustainable urban development and to identify and promote new business models contributing to a better, more sustainable life in the city. As one of the event’s partners, Schneider Electric presented an award to the most innovative project selected from within its own areas of expertise.

“The Schneider Electric Foundation challenged students to come up with innovative energy solutions which could be implemented right away. Schneider Electric is particularly proud to be involved with the Shanghai 2010 Award and to reward such an innovative project as Solar Change”, said Claude Breining, in charge of European Affairs at Schneider Electric, who represented the Group on the judging panel. “What is more, sponsoring this type of project will promote strong, confident relations between Schneider Electric and a new generation of young, talented entrepreneurs, called into action to face the current energy challenges and fully cognisant of our values”

The aim of the Solar Change project was to address the challenge of supplying electricity in slums. The team designed an innovative system which is safe, affordable, green and based on a business model adapted to the issues and problems experienced by people at the base of the pyramid. The ingenious solution is a tree-like structure called SCTree – a stand-alone solar power unit with a single stable pillar and solar panels at the crown – which can be placed at the centre of the slum. The business model offers local entrepreneurs support from a micro-finance organization to purchase the SCTree and cover their costs by selling the electricity generated to inhabitants based on a monthly subscription.

Today, during the Social Currency CrunchUp, angel investor Ron Conway had some interesting data to share for the first time. Conway says that his company, SV Angel, has recently done an audit on the over 500 companies they’ve invested in over the past 12 years. And he was surprised with the results.

Conway expected it would show that about one-third of companies fail, one-third get investors their money back, and one-third bring a 2x to Google-x return (Conway invested in Google early on). But that’s not the case. Conway noticed that during the Internet Bubble in 1997 to 2001 — the failure rate (startups that go out of business and the investors get nothing) was a staggering 77 percent. “It was catastrophic,” he said.

But things improved. The failure rate in recent years — since 2002 — has dropped to about 40 percent, Conway says. He makes sure to note that that’s just his portfolio — which they’re picky about. They only invest in about one of every 40 companies they see.

Conway notes that he was able to make it through the Bubble years because of a very few smart investments in Google, PayPal, and others that also took place at that time. “We were lucky, others weren’t,” he notes.

He also notes that entrepreneurs have a 66 percent chance of being successful on a startup if it’s their second one. But that’s also partially because they’re often doing a second startup if they were successful the first time around.

All that said, Conway notes that his data shows that regardless of the time period — Bubble or Boom — the rate of very successful outcomes has stayed roughly the same. With that in mind, “anytime is a good time to start a company,” he concludes.

Conway says there is a misconception that “every 10 years we get a Google.” “That’s not true,” Conway says. He notes that AskJeeves came, then six years later, Google came. But then six years after that was Facebook. And now the big companies are coming faster. After Facebook, it was only four years until Twitter came around. Then it was two years later that Foursquare, Zynga, and others have come along. “Great companies are being created at a much greater rate,” Conway says.

Social Currency CrunchUp.

Last Christmas while while spending time with family in Ireland, RTE screened what I though was one of the best films that I’ve seen from them in recent history – Summer of 69′. It was a true gem and one that I believe you and your friends will thoroughly enjoy. So get yourself and your friends out to a very unique event from INBA.
- Gerard Sheridan

In 1968 22 year old photographer Jim Sugar spent three months in the Republic of Ireland capturing the people and places of Ireland for a National Geographic Magazine feature article published in 1969. Thirty-four of those images appeared in the final article but over 10,400 images were actually taken.

During the summer of 1969, RTE asked Jim to retrace the steps of the original National Geographic article. Although some of the people in the original article had died, many of the people and places remained very familiar.

The one-hour movie based on his return trip was broadcast in Ireland on Radio Television Ireland (RTE) on December 29, 2009. It received a 31% market share (very high). Since then, Jim has received about 300 emails from Ireland commenting on the program–all but one of them positive.

Jim will screen the RTE film for a gathering of the Irish Network Bay Area at a meeting on July 29.
Please join Irish Network Bay Area and photographer and film-maker Jim Sugar for this special screening and talk about this wonderful and heart-warming movie.

More information and online registration: Summer of 69′ & evening with photographer/film-maker Jim Sugar

MINISTER FOR Communications Eamon Ryan yesterday unveiled a €5 million investment in internet technology developed in Ireland that will bring 140 new high-end research jobs in the next year.

In a world’s first, the technology uses tuneable lasers instead of silicon chips to deliver data and will enable high-definition streaming of sports and movies to home computers and mobile phones.

It is the second phase of Government investment in the Exemplar programme, which solves the problem giants like ATT have been addressing for the last 10 years – congestion on the internet .

Developed by two UCD graduates at Intune Networks, it has the potential to carry the equivalent of London’s entire telephone network from just one small computer room in Dublin.

“This is a breakthrough moment for Ireland,” said Mr Ryan. “The future of the internet is here and it’s being developed in Ireland.”

He hopes it will act as a magnet for investment. More than 30 telecoms companies have already signed up to test the technology, including BT, Imagine and IBM.

One of the first companies planning to pilot the system for the public is Smock Alley Theatre, a 17th-century theatre in Temple Bar which will open again in March next year with international stars including Liam Neeson and Robert de Niro to perform.

Such is the incredible speed with which data can be transferred that that one of the creators of the technology, Tom Dunne, believes consumers will in future be able to run their own TV channels.

“Take social networking. People will be able to broadcast their own events to their friends and family,” he said.

It also unleashes the prospect of pay-as-you-go broadband rates and high-quality streaming of sports and movies onto phones.

“The opportunities are endless. we can see uses for teachers, social workers, businesses and the great thing is you will be able to decide exactly what quality broadband you want and for how long for and pay for just that. No more flat rates,” said Mr Dunne.

Exemplar works by solving the problem of costly bottlenecks caused by congestion at switches in the telephone network. The average internet connection involves 20 switches from home computer to host computer.

The first live network was switched on by Mr Ryan yesterday at Parkwest Business Centre in west Dublin and a full-scale ring around Dublin will be built for further testing in 2011 with a view to rolling out a national test bed in 2012.

The technology, which is locked down with 16 patents, is being made available to any company worldwide for trial purposes. Normally companies developing technology do it in private and use it to leverage competitive advantage.

THREE U.S. WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS TAP ACCURIS NETWORKS’ AccuPROFILE PLATFORM
Platform maximizes wireless user experience while reducing service provider costs

DUBLIN, Ireland and NEW YORK, NY, Jul. 13, 2010—Ireland-based Accuris Networks, an innovator in roaming interworking and device management technology, today announced that three leading U.S. wireless service providers—two regional and one national—will tap the company’s AccuPROFILE product, an over-the-air (OTA) service provisioning and device management platform. The three contracts have a combined value of US$2.7 million.

The news was announced today during an economic mission to the U.S. led by Ireland’s Prime Minister, Brian Cowen. Commenting on the deals, Prime Minister Cowen noted, “With Ireland producing some of the world’s most advanced wireless technology innovations, it’s gratifying to see Accuris Networks close three major U.S. deals and broaden its presence in the U.S. market. The customer wins are a tribute to the company’s inventive solutions. I wish them well as they continue to enable the service offerings of leading U.S. wireless providers.”

“Accuris Networks is focused on providing technology solutions that enable wireless continuity across various types of access networks—for example, solutions that enable the offload of 3G services onto Wi-Fi devices,” said Gilbert Little, Chairman of Accuris Networks. “Our solutions are designed to provide wireless service providers with the industry-leading technology required to improve the efficiency of their operations, while reducing their costs and enhancing their users’ wireless experience. These three new contracts provide a significant boost to our fast-growing U.S. customer base and highlight the acceptance our technology is experiencing worldwide.”

The AccuPROFILE platform is designed to maximize the wireless subscriber’s user experience, while reducing the service provider’s cost of provisioning and updating mobile devices. By leveraging the product, wireless service providers can greatly enhance their customers’ experience. This includes making it easier to provide personalized services compatible with the user’s device, facilitating free roaming, enabling new service upgrades and ensuring that devices are using the most up-to-date software, as well as providing a reliable and trouble-free user experience.

AccuPROFILE also provides significant cost benefits to wireless service providers. It eliminates the cost of device provisioning on either the factory floor or by a live agent, helps drive roaming revenue through advanced PRL management and enables self-service setup through instant activation. The platform also speeds time to market for new devices and services, and lowers operational costs by reducing the number of help desk calls.

About Accuris Networks
Accuris Networks is a leading provider of Roaming Inter-Working and Convergence solutions. Established in 1997, Accuris Networks is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with offices in the United States and Malaysia. Led by a team with unrivalled experience in service convergence and service continuity, our AccuROAM platform provides a competitive, cost effective and robust inter-working platform designed to enable seamless mobility across multiple network technologies. For more information about Accuris Networks, please visit www.accuris-networks.com.

Contact
David Reeder
Email: david.reeder@accuris-networks.com

IRELAND’S AIRTEL ATN PROVIDES SOFTWARE TO U.S. SYSTEMS INTEGRATORS TO ENABLE THEIR SOLUTIONS FOR FAA NEXTGEN AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

Company’s data link software plays a key enabling role in improving air travel safety and efficiency

DUBLIN, Ireland and BETHESDA, MD., Jul. 13, 2010—Ireland-based Airtel ATN, a leading supplier of aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) software to the global aerospace industry, today announced it will provide key data link software, avionics test equipment and development services to several U.S.-based companies and research organizations involved in the design and implementation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) NextGen Air Transportation System (ATS) program. Airtel ATN expects the contracts to result in revenue of approximately US$1 million in 2010. The company is already involved in providing similar products and services to the European Union’s EUROCONTROL Link 2000+ program.

The news was announced today during an economic mission to the U.S. led by Ireland’s Prime Minister, Brian Cowen. Commenting on the deal, Prime Minister Cowen noted, “Airtel ATN’s technology exemplifies the kind of sophisticated software that is being pioneered in Ireland and enabling the world’s most advanced industry segments. I commend the company for its innovative products and increasing success in the U.S. market.”

The FAA’s NextGen ATS is a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. airspace system that is intended to make air travel more convenient, safe, secure and dependable. Focused on better data communications, it is designed to enable the FAA to track and guide aircraft more precisely and efficiently, decrease fuel consumption, reduce noise and pollution, prevent lengthy flight delays and eliminate accidents. The key to the system’s success will be its ability to ensure that critical data reaches key decision makers when needed.

Airtel ATN’s CEO, Frank O’Connor, credited his company’s extensive experience in the aviation industry for the latest customer wins. “Delivering tangible value to systems integrators in the form of differentiated products that sharpen their competitive edge is at the heart of what we do. Today’s wins, along with our participation in the EUROCONTROL Link 2000+ program, demonstrate Airtel’s experience and leadership in providing the aerospace industry with the latest in ATN data link technology.”

Airtel ATN offers a range of ATN and VDL Mode-2 data link products, including avionics routers, avionics test equipment, ground data link servers, air/ground routers and ground systems test equipment.

For more information about Airtel ATN, please visit www.airtel-atn.com.

Contact
Siofra O’Connor
Email: Siofra.oconnor@airtel-atn.com
Tel: +353-1-2147471

BORD NA MONA ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS U.S. INC. ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP DEAL WITH ALL TECH ENVIRONMENTAL FOR THE SUPPLY OF WASTEWATER TECHNOLOGIES FOR TERTIARY AND WATER REUSE APPLICATIONS

KILDARE, Ireland and NEW YORK, NY, Jul. 13, 2010—Bord na Mona Environmental Products U.S. Inc, a premier provider of water reuse, wastewater and odor-control treatment technologies, and the U.S. subsidiary of Ireland-based Bord na Mona, a US$500 million energy, resource recovery & environmental technology provider, today announced a partnership agreement with All Tech Environmental (All Tech). The agreement, which was arranged by Wastewater Technologies, Inc. (WTI), provides for the supply of proprietary technologies that will be used to treat wastewater in commercial and residential development markets that require nitrogen and phosphorous removal to high-performance permit levels, water reuse, and high-strength waste applications. Within a short time frame, WTI and All Tech, together with Bord na Mona have established a pipeline of projects valued in excess of US$3 million.

The news was announced today during an economic mission to the U.S. led by Ireland’s Prime Minister, Brian Cowen. Commenting on the deal, Prime Minister Cowen noted, “Bord na Mona is to be commended for pioneering the kind of leading-edge technologies and products that offer practical, highly efficient and greener solutions for the treatment of waste water and air pollution. I wish the company well as they begin their new partnership with All Tech Environmental and WTI.”

Since 1993, Bord na Mona Environmental Products U.S., has expanded its range of high-performance wastewater treatment, water reuse and odor-control solutions to serve a mix of residential customers, developers, municipalities and industries across the U.S. Earlier this year, the company marked a major milestone by installing its 600th biological odor control solution.

“Today’s deal with All Tech and WTI brings leading-edge innovative water treatment solutions to customers in the New York and New England area that will provide opportunities for water conservation and reuse, and achievement of the highest environmental treatment standards,” said Shane Keaney, president of Bord na Mona Environmental Products U.S. “We’re delighted to join forces with these two companies—both leaders in the effort to introduce transformative decentralized wastewater technologies.”

Last year, in a major expansion of its U.S. presence and marking an important pillar of its “New Contract with Nature” strategy, Bord na Mona Environmental Products U.S. Inc. opened an Innovation Center in North Carolina. The center serves as a showcase for Bord Na Mona’s range of wastewater & air pollution treatment products. These include Puraflo®, a peat biofilter which is widely deployed across the U.S. in residential septic applications, PuraM a membrane bioreactor designed specifically for decentralized high performance & water reuse applications, PuraMax an attached growth technology utilizing recycled plastics to provide cost effective solutions for high strength applications and MONASHELL®, a biological odor/VOC control solution that uses a sustainable naturally occurring media that provides high performance at optimum whole life cost. The facility also serves as a research and development hub for new-generation environmental solutions that incorporate recycled or natural materials, reduce the use of chemicals, provide water reuse solutions, and reduce energy demand.

For information on Bord na Mona, please visit www.bnm-us.com

Contact
Shane Keaney
Tel: +1 336 547 9338
Email: shanekeaney@bnm-us.com

NEW YORK, NY, July 13, 2010—During a three-day economic mission to New York this week, the Prime Minister of Ireland (An Taoiseach), Mr. Brian Cowen, announced new deals for Irish companies totaling US$7 million. In addition, Prime Minister Cowen met with several Enterprise Ireland clients that recently established operations in the New York area. Since the beginning of the year, 32 Irish companies opened and staffed offices in the U.S. Eight planted roots in New York City where they join 39 other Irish companies collectively employing nearly 3,300 people and making the City the top U.S. location for Ireland-based companies.

Prime Minister Cowen praised the Irish companies for their continuing sales successes in the U.S. market. He also commended those that recently established U.S. operations, noting, “It takes confidence and courage to expand during challenging economic conditions. But by expanding into the U.S., they’re validating the competitive strength of their products and services, highlighting the importance of this region to their global business, and, most importantly, growing their business at home.”

The companies establishing a presence in New York join many other Ireland-based companies with entrenched operations in the country, making Ireland the 13th largest investor in the U.S.  Currently, more than 82,000 Americans across all 50 States are employed by 220 Ireland-based companies. This sustained investment trend aligns well with the country’s National Development Plan which recognizes the importance of export-led growth in top sectors that include: ICT, life sciences, international services, industrial and consumer products, and educational services.

As part of the local assistance offered to new market entrants, Enterprise Ireland provides incubator offices for U.S. market development strategically located in New York, Silicon Valley and Boston. Companies that used the services in the past six months include: Byrne Wallace (one of Ireland’s largest law firms), Allergy Standards (product testing and certification for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America), Harmonia (Ireland’s largest magazine publisher), M2M Telematics (remote monitoring for clean-tech), Socrates (practice-management software for life science companies), Trade Facilitate (international trade compliance/Microsoft trade solutions partner), and VigiTrust (software for corporate and governance compliance).

New York City Council Speaker, Christine C. Quinn, noted, “Enterprise Ireland is harnessing the Irish entrepreneurial spirit and bringing new innovation in business to New York City. We, too, are particularly interested in investing in innovation: it’s one of the ways we’re trying to bolster and strengthen our economy.  We applaud the successful efforts of Enterprise Ireland in this direction, facilitating engagement and innovation in our business community here and across the Atlantic.”
Central to Ireland’s export-led economy is a comprehensive infrastructure dedicated to investing in innovation and turning world-class research into commercializable technologies and products. Last year, for example, the Government dedicated nearly US$57 million to support in-company research and development projects. 750 Enterprise Ireland companies invested substantial sums in advanced R&D, with 52 investing more than US$2.5 million. The focus on innovation begins at the country’s Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) where the results are especially promising. 35 spin-outs emerged from Ireland’s HEIs in 2009, marking a three-fold increase over the previous year. In addition, 95 technologies were licensed to companies in the same timeframe.

Not surprisingly, given Ireland’s focus on investing in innovation, the number of indigenous technology start-ups is on the rise. In the last four years, more than 300 high-tech companies were established across the nation, with Enterprise Ireland supporting 73 in 2009 alone through an investment of US$26.5 million. Many were founded by returning emigrants—former executives with large technology companies in the U.S. and elsewhere, now bringing international business acumen, expertise and connections to their new Ireland-based enterprises.

While promoting the accomplishments of the Irish companies planting roots in New York this week, Prime Minister Cowen will also meet with members of the Irish Diaspora which is especially strong in the region. The Diaspora community has long provided Irish start-ups with a conduit to capital and customers, with many Enterprise Ireland clients benefiting from the mentorship and market advice provided by more than 350 Ireland-based and international individuals.
For more information on Enterprise Ireland, please visit www.enterprise-ireland.com or www.americas.enterprise-ireland.com

Media Contact
Jane Evans-Ryan
Genuity PR for Enterprise Ireland
Tel: (408) 489-6391
Email: jane@genuitypr.com

This ranking means that Norkom Technologies achieved the highest aggregate score among global providers of financial crime risk management technologies for breadth of financial crime coverage (which includes, but is not limited to, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), internal fraud, credit fraud, card fraud, online fraud), advanced analytics, usability, configurability, data management and integration, case management and workflow, integrated financial crime reporting and platform.

“With fraud and money laundering continuing to be the most common crimes within financial services, Norkom remains as one of the leading vendors with the vision, insight and technologies that enable financial institutions to deploy a true enterprise-wide financial crime risk management solution”, says Peyman Mestchian, Managing Partner at Chartis Research.

Chartis Research estimates that the global market for financial crime risk management technology will grow to $4.19 billion by 2010, at a compound growth rate of 15%, driven predominantly by the introduction and stringent enforcement of new regulations, demand for business intelligence to fight financial crime, increased demand for real-time transaction monitoring technologies and increased spend on financial crime risk management solutions to address the rise in identity theft and internet-based crimes.

The report points to the escalating level, frequency and sophistication of financial crime, fuelled by the global recession and exacerbated further by a lack of coordinated intelligence arising from a siloed-based approach to managing money laundering and fraud, which ultimately, inhibits an institution’s ability to link data and create intelligence to fight a common criminal threat. In recommending the deployment of enterprise-wide financial crime risk management based on the establishment of a single, integrated platform, Chartis suggests that the only vendors that can offer this are those that offer a broad array of technical capabilities and a wide range of support services.

As the vendor with the highest aggregate score for “completeness of offering”, Norkom is very well placed to help leading financial institutions to implement a true enterprise-wide financial crime risk management solution that not only eliminates unnecessary duplication and inefficiencies, but also evolves constantly to meet new criminal trends and regulations.

The report specifically cites Norkom’s high customer satisfaction scores, with many clients using Norkom for multi-channel financial crime risk management – across AML, payment, cards, checks, electronic payments, online fraud and employee fraud – and some moving towards standardizing enterprise financial crime risk management strategies on the Norkom platform. The report reiterates the importance of real-time or near real-time fraud detection of transactions to a firm’s financial crime risk management, endorsing Norkom’s offering which provides real-time and near-real-time capabilities, in addition to advanced case management.

Liam Griffin, Norkom’s Chief Commercial Officer, says, “On behalf of the Norkom team, I am delighted that Norkom has been recognized as being the most complete solution in the marketplace for the second consecutive year. We continue to invest heavily in R&D for all of our financial crime and compliance solutions and platform with a view to ensuring that they remain leading-edge and provide our clients with superior technologies that will help them meet the demands of the regulator, protect them from financial and reputational risks, whilst also enhancing the defenses of their customers from the global phenomenon that is financial crime. This ranking is testament to the many years of investment we’ve made and our ability to compete aggressively on innovation, quality and our people”.

“Chartis Research estimates that internal fraud, internet-based frauds and security breaches will continue to increase as a result of the global recession. As the company that ranked highest for completeness of offering, Norkom is very well placed to help financial institutions to manage these escalating risks to their businesses”, concludes Peyman Mestchian.

Please click here to download a copy of Chartis Research Norkom Highlights Report 2010.

For more information, please contact:
Fiona McLoughlin, Marketing Manager, Norkom Technologies
T: 0035318739600, E: fiona.mcloughlin@norkom.com

About Norkom Technologies (www.norkom.com)

Established in 1998, Norkom Technologies (AIM: NORK.L, IEX: NORK.IE) enables financial organizations to take intelligent action, control defenses, and evolve strategies against fraud, money laundering, and other types of financial crime. By combining a unique investigative technology platform with deep domain expertise, Norkom has established a solid track record of reducing financial losses, protecting users’ reputations, improving operational efficiencies, and lowering the cost of information technology. Norkom serves clients in over 100 countries across four continents including seven of the world’s top 10 financial institutions.

About Chartis Research – www.chartis-research.com

Chartis Research is the leading provider of research and analysis on the global market for risk technology. Our goal is to support enterprises as they drive business performance through better risk management, corporate governance and compliance. Chartis analyses the systems, products, vendors, applications and trends in the risk technology marketplace. This analysis is published in our flagship industry reports, white papers and research articles.