WP2 of TUS RISE is pleased to present Connected Innovations on November 6th, 2025, in TUS Thurles. This event focuses on university-industry collaboration (UIC) and the rootedness of innovation in people and places.
This is open to everyone, is free of charge and is an ideal opportunity to:
- Network with local industry and enterprise
- Hear about people’s real experiences of innovation
- Reflect on international case studies of innovation and what can be done differently.
Please register at the link below or click the QR code in the flyer attached.
Keynote speakers include:
- Lynn Haime (Baltic Creative, Liverpool)
- Fr Peter McVerry (Founder, Peter McVerry Trust)
- Dr David Downey (IDEAM Cluster, TUS Moylish)
Opening Speakers:
- Prof. Vincent Cunnane (TUS),
- Mr Neil McDermott (HEA)
- Mr Eoin O’Brien (Southern Regional Assembly)
TUS RISE is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-27.
Connected Innovations – People, Places and Inventions in the Twenty First Century
The concept of innovation and relationships between industries, societies and universities looms large in contemporary social, economic, and political discourse. It pervades modern-day policy rhetoric nationally and internationally and is viewed as critical to enhancing and sustaining economic competitiveness and social sustainability. While innovation is often discussed in terms of diffusion and triple and quadruple helixes, the ‘real stories’ of the connections between people, places and innovations, as well as the nuances and layered character of these relationships, are sometimes overlooked from public, economic and political discussion. Questions therefore remain about ‘what works’ with regards to innovation and to building and maintaining relationships for real societal impact. All innovations, be they scientific, cultural, social or political are also rooted in the people and places that re-create them and are therefore connected. We interpret innovation not only in terms of its economic impacts and byproducts but as a complex thread that is interspersed in everyday life which is essential to overall human development. Furthermore, despite the emphasis on innovation in European policies, the notion of ‘what works’ in terms of innovation and driving these connections between business, universities and communities is also underexplored in the Irish context.
In this symposium, we bring together representatives from the Midwest and Midlands regions and farther afield to engage with the meanings of these connections; how technical, industrial, artistic, and social enterprises intersect with the ideas and histories of people and places, which indelibly shapes how they impact on the regions, as well as nationally and globally. Born out of an interdisciplinary perspective, it also focuses on TUS’s role and that of the Technological University sector more generally, in furthering collaborations with industry, government and society and in mediating these complex relationships in relation to trust, knowledge and the economy. Ultimately, this event interrogates the intricate workings of the interchanges between industry, invention, communities and places underlining the complexities for government and policy.