By Business & Finance 
The state-of-the art Eolas building will be home to MaynoothWorks – an incubation centre to support and develop start-ups and drive innovative teaching methods.
The building is the latest in a series of campus development projects at Maynooth University. Three recent Maynooth University spin-outs alone have raised more than €20m in investment and created 50 jobs.
MaynoothWorks already has five client companies, including Verifly, the latest venture from Hailo co-founder Jay Bregman which provides web and mobile applications for recreational drone users; Accuplex Diagnostics, an early stage diagnostics company which is already selling product internationally aimed at treating both human and equine conditions; and Avectas, which develops technology in pursuit of in-vivo diagnostic and therapeutic applications with a current focus on oncology.
Professor Philip Nolan, president, Maynooth University, said: “As a hub for the fields of information and communication technology, Eolas will break down the boundaries that too often exist between academia and enterprise – and between students and the world of work.”
He continues: “Whether it’s inspiring students who pass by conversations about the latest start-up on their way to class, or it’s a new company setting up shop near the students it hopes will one day fill their skills gap, Eolas is about facilitating connections and driving ICT innovation. This kind of magic only happens when people come together. From its functionality and design to the quality of the work going on under its roof, Eolas is becoming a natural hub not only for the University’s ICT academics and industry partners, but for the very robust ICT community within this region.”
Minister Richard Bruton TD, commented: “Two key aspects of this are extra co-working and incubation spaces for entrepreneurs, and measures to derive more commercial outcomes from the excellent research happening in our universities. The opening of MaynoothWorks and the Eolas building in Maynooth University will make a major contribution to this, and I am delighted to warmly welcome today’s developments.”
