DIT Hothouse Celebrating Ten Years of Success Digital Brochure

Credit: Bowe O’Brien Photography

2 Put DIT technologies to work for you

A Welcome Note from Joe Healy 4
High Performance Start-up Divisional Manager, Enterprise Ireland
An Interview with Tom Flanagan 5
Centre Director, DIT Hothouse 6
Impact 8
What We Do, How We Do It, and Why 10
DIT Hothouse Incubator 11
Case Studies: 11
12
Kastus 13
Artomatix 14
Locatible 15
Riffstation 16
Movidius 17
Bridgestone 18
C & F Automotive 18
Becoming A Successful Student Entrepreneur: 19
Sean Paul Designs 20
Jaru Food 22
Milestones 23
Research Successes & Future Vision
To the Next 10 Years

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 3

Joe Healy, High Performance Start-up Divisional
Manager, Enterprise Ireland

Nurturing and supporting early stage High Potential Start- Industry. The funding Enterprise Ireland provided to DIT Hot-
Ups (HPSUs) throughout the country is a key priority for En- house so far has delivered great results through the spin out
terprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland invested €32 million in of new start-up ventures.
Irish start-ups in 2016 and supported a total of 229 start-up
companies, the highest number to date in a single year. 15 DIT Hothouse, a pioneer in the enterprise support space,
spin-out companies from Higher Education Institu- launched the first programme targeted specifically at
tions were supported in 2016. Investment was technology start-ups, namely the DIT Hothouse
provided in the form of Competitive Start Venture Programme. This programme tran-
Funds (CSFs) and High Potential Start-Up sitioned to the New Frontiers programme
(HSPU) funding. in 2012. Through both programmes, DIT
Hothouse has helped create over 400
Enterprise Ireland’s HPSU division sustainable businesses which have
leads a national drive to encourage attracted over €195 million in equity
more start-ups, working with part- investment, creating over 1,700 jobs.
ners and stakeholders across the en-
terprise support infrastructure, to help Since 2012, over 130 companies have
Irish early stage businesses to achieve completed New Frontiers Phase 2 at
scale in global markets. Innovation will be DIT Hothouse. These total 500 jobs, pro-
a key differentiator in achieving competitive jected revenues in 2017 of €36m and over
advantage in global markets. We have many €14m in equity investment. Many have gone
examples of Irish companies doing just this. Some no- on to achieve further high-profile success – achiev-
table names include Movidius, Mick’s Garage, Smarter Sur- ing HPSU status, or being awarded Enterprise Ireland Com-
faces, Artomatix, Locatible, Sigmoid Pharma and DecaWave, petitive Start Funding (CSF) or Horizon 2020 funding. Oth-
all of them alumni of DIT Hothouse and Enterprise Ireland ers have won prestigious global and domestic awards such
HPSU start-ups. as Nvidia, European Start-up of the Year, InterTrade Ireland
Seedcorn Awards and The Irish Times Innovation Award.
Since 2007, DIT Hothouse has produced over 440 qualified
inventions, 139 licence agreements, created 36 spin-out A recent review of past DIT Hothouse New Frontiers start-
companies, filed 85 patents and completed 38 high value ups found that start-ups that locate in an incubator raised
research agreements. Ireland has invested significantly in twice the investment, and grew twice as fast as those that
building research capacity in strategic areas allied to industry did not have incubator support. One such start-up that can
needs. We have an excellent physical research infrastructure testify to this is Movidius. Movidius took part in DIT Hothouse
in place coupled with structures to commercialise research. programme and in 2016 the company was sold to Intel for
The DIT Hothouse Incubator is a great example of this. more than €300m.

In the new DIT Hothouse Incubator, situated on the DIT We congratulate DIT Hothouse on all of the successes they
Grangegorman campus, knowledge-intensive companies can have achieved over the last ten years and look forward
avail of laboratory and incubator facilities specifically de- to building on this. We are always looking for ambitious
signed to meet the needs of technology start-ups. early stage High Tech companies that are planning to make
a big difference in the world and I am confident that the im-
Enterprise Ireland also supports research that has the po- pressive team of DIT Hothouse will support them achieve
tential to result in the commercialisation of new innovations their ambitions.
by way of licenses to improve the competitiveness of Irish

Ireland has invested significantly in building research
capacity in strategic areas allied to industry needs.

4 Put DIT technologies to work for you

An Interview with Tom Flanagan, Centre Director, DIT Hothouse

by Claire O’Connell, Journalist

What was the aim, 10 years ago, when DIT Hothouse started? in any given month. We also run masterclasses that bring
entrepreneurs from across the city together.  We have built up
When we started in 2007, our aim was to set up the first a really good innovation ecosystem and we recently secured
technology transfer office for DIT, to license out some of the funding and launched our new incubator in DIT Grangegor-
inventions and start new companies based on DIT research. man.
We were also looking to create synergies by combining this
activity with the existing incubation programme, while at the And what kind of impact has Hothouse already had?
same time working toward securing funding for our new in-
cubator in Grangegorman. We have launched 36 start-ups from DIT research and li-
censed 139 technologies. We have also supported the growth
Why then? of more than 400 sustainable businesses, which have cre-
ated more than 1,700 high tech jobs and have raised more
Back then looking at the research in DIT, I could see
that we had some world-class inventions, and than 195 million Euro in equity investment. It is a
there was a real need to get these technolo- real case of the more you do, the more you can
gies to market. DIT already had a venture do. The ecosystem is very strong.    
programme we were running in Dock-
lands to help entrepreneurs launch Shortly after DIT Hothouse started, an
their businesses, but there was no economic recession hit Ireland. What
infrastructure in DIT to support licenc- effect did that have?
es and spin-outs from DIT research.
In 2007, Enterprise Ireland launched The recession was good for technol-
the Technology Transfer Strengthening ogy transfer and incubation, I think.
Initiative to fund these activities, so I People in business are always looking
wrote the proposal, secured the funding for good ideas, but this was a period
and started the operation. where companies particularly needed
to find new ways to be competitive, so
How did you kick-start the process of commercialis- they were even more interested in what re-
ing DIT research? search and inventions we had to offer. Also I think
the recession fired up the entrepreneurial spirit, we saw the
I picked a few key inventions and took the researchers to number of applications double and the quality of the projects
meet potential licensees up and down the west coast of the went up. It was a great time to be in the planning stages of a
United States.  We met all of the big players Microsoft, Intel, start-up when strong talent was more available.
HP, Cisco, Aruba, etc. and secured some trial licences.  I had
worked in the US for years and I had a lot of business con- The biggest challenge for us during the recession was to con-
tacts there. It was important to show DIT researchers that vince Enterprise Ireland to fund building a new incubator fa-
they really did have world class technology that was of in- cility when property prices were falling everywhere and when
terest to the major players around the world. One of the first new builds were being halted. However, we were successful
real successes was a licence to Sony in 2007 for a technology on the basis that the new incubator in Grangegorman will be
that went into their Playstation karaoke game. a catalyst for economic development, creating jobs and at-
tracting investment to Dublin’s north inner city. 

What has built up since? What is your advice for success in growing business in a re-
search-rich environment?
Once the Tech Transfer Office in DIT was running smoothly,
I expanded our operations by providing tech transfer ser- I think you need to keep a step ahead and anticipate what
vices to researchers in IT Tallaght, IT Blanchardstown, IADT researchers and businesses need. We have been creative
and NCI. We called this the Dublin Region Innovation Con- with our policies on intellectual property and using video and
sortium. We all have incubation programmes and we used social media campaigns to make it easier for researchers, en-
to compete vigorously, recruiting entrepreneurs in March and trepreneurs and companies to engage with us.
September, but when we began operating as a consortium
we staggered the launch times so we don’t compete anymore I also think it is important to start with a vision of where you
and now an entrepreneur can start on one of our programmes want to be and set targets year-on-year in order to drive results.

The more you do, the more you can do.

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 5

Licence
Agreements

36Spin- from
DIT
outs Research

6 Put DIT technologies to work for you

66%

of revenues

from export sales

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 7

How Transfers
Knowledge
Research
Invention and
Observations and experiments Technology Disclosure
during research activities often lead
to discoveries and inventions. Discloses the critical solution
the technology provides and its
Assessment advantages and benefits over
current technologies.
DIT Hothouse reviews the invention
disclosure, conducts patent searches Intellectual Property
(if applicable), and analyses the Protection
market and competitive technologies
to assess the invention’s We file patents, registered design
commercialisation potential. rights, registered copyrights etc.

Marketing Selecting the Best
Licensee(s)
DIT Hothouse is committed to
broadly marketing all technologies DIT Hothouse grants licenses and
to appropriate companies that could assignments to companies that
be interested in commercialising the will use the technology for new
particular invention. products, processes or services.

Licensing Commercialisation

DIT Hothouse negotiates and Most third level inventions are very early
executes a license agreement. stage and require further research and
development efforts. The licensee company
Royalties typically makes significant business
investments of time and funding to
Royalties received by DIT from commercialize the product or service.
licensees are distributed according
to policy to inventors, departments, Reinvest
and schools to fund additional
research and education. Royalties shared throughout DIT
collectively foster the creation of
8 the next generation of research
and innovators.

Put DIT technologies to work for you

How Develops
Start-ups
Start-up
Funding Start-up Entrepreneurial
Workshops Environment
DIT Hothouse offer up to
€15,000 - equity free - DIT Hothouse training Supportive & challenging
to select entrepreneurs.
programmes cover all environment helping
Innovation
Vouchers key business areas. entrepreneurs start &

Offering €5k worth scale their businesses.
of DIT research to
start-ups. Hotdesk Space

Desk space is available

free-of-charge to

programme participants

and their teams.

Specialist Clinics Masterclasses &
Networking Events
Investment, Accountancy
Held monthly - topics range
& Legal Specialists host
from international selling to
regular clinics.
investment & funding.

Office Space Mentors & Coaches

The new purpose built DIT DIT Hothouse complements

Hothouse incubator offers core training with dedicated

high-end, modern own-door offices, support from subject and

meeting & networking space. sectoral with industry experts.

Graduates / Interns Start-up Referrals

DIT Hothouse facilitates DIT Hothouse connects

student project work, entrepreneurs with state

placements and recruitment. support agencies and the

business and investment

community

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 9

Isn’t it time
you moved to

Dublin’s newest
start-up incubator?

New 2,000 square metre
start-up incubator located on
DIT’s Grangegorman Campus

FACILITIES: Photos by Bowe O’Brien Photography

• Private & shared • WIFI Critical Advice & Support for Start-up & Scaling Companies
office space from • Luas Networking Events & Masterclasses
16m2 to 51m2 • Bus Entrepreneurial Environment Facilitating Peer to Peer Learning
• Bike Storage Access to Researchers & Technicians
• Laboratories • Sports New Frontiers Mentors
• Showers Access to DIT Talent
• 24 Hour Access • Kitchen Access to Investors

• Meeting Rooms

• Event Space

YOUR NEIGHBOURS WILL BE:

10 Base your start-up in the DIT Hothouse Incubator

KASTUS:
STOPPING THE SPREAD OF

KILLER MICROBES Medtech
Start-up

DIT Hothouse spin-out company Kastus is bringing to

market light-activated anti-microbial technology that

can render surfaces 99.99% resistant to harmful microbes.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Many bacteria are harmless, but the harmful ones can cost us dearly. Microbes such as the ‘superbugs’
MRSA and virulent strains of E. coli pose a chronic problem in healthcare settings, where they cause seri-
ous and sometimes fatal infections in vulnerable patients.

These sturdy bugs can live on surfaces such as countertops, walls, ATMs and even mobile phones and
tablet screens, and can thus spread from place to place as people touch those surfaces. Such superbugs
are currently predicted to kill 10 million people worldwide every year by 2050.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

The innovation is a new anti-microbial technology that can be integrated into surfaces. It was originally
developed by the Research Team in the Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology (CREST) of
Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and can be integrated invisibly into glass, plastics, ceramics, paints and
metal. Its anti-microbial properties are activated by indoor light, it kills a broad spectrum of microbes and
it generates no toxic byproducts.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

When the light-activated anti-microbial technology was put through its paces, it was found to render sur-
faces 99.99 per cent resistant to E. coli, MRSA and species of fungi.

Kastus spun out of DIT to further develop and commercialise the technology, and in late 2016 the compa-
ny announced a €1.5m investment led by the Atlantic Bridge University Fund, which invests in companies
built from world-class research.

Kastus is also supported by Enterprise Ireland, Carragh Holdings (Singapore based investor syndicate) and
Dick Blake, CEO of Pembroke Consultants.

The company has already achieved excellent results in trials with several
international customers who have been searching for such a solution for
years, and it initially plans to supply customers in the electronics and
healthcare sectors.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

DIT Hothouse identified and protected the new antimicrobial tech-
nology and the intellectual property behind it. It also found and
enabled suitable researchers in DIT to collaborate with Kastus, and
facilitated introductions to investors.

DIT Hothouse won the 2017 Knowledge Transfer Ireland Spin-out Com-
pany Impact Award for Kastus, the company is based in the DIT Hothouse
Incubator in the Greenway Hub on DIT’s Grangegorman Campus.

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | Visit DIT Hothouse Incubator 11

ARTOMATIX:
SOFTWARE TO TAKE THE

GRIND OUT OF DIGITAL ART Artificial
Intelligence
Artomatix is using artificial intelligence to automate Technology

aspects of 3D digital art and animation, thereby reducing the time and

cost of production of movies and computer games and creating new

opportunities for companies to showcase products to consumers.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Digital art costs too much and takes too long to make. This is because many of the processes are still car-
ried out manually. Think about creating a crowd scene where each individual is created by hand. Doing this
entirely manually is both time-consuming and expensive, and it does not take advantage of the power of
computers and artificial intelligence.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

The innovation is software that uses computer algorithms to create variants of an original piece of art. It
uses machine learning to create new variants of that original ‘seed’ and thus assists the digital artist to
create new works efficiently and quickly. Delivered as a cloud-based service, the artist uploads the seed
art and the algorithm generates variants.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

Artomatix grew out of Chief Technology Officer Dr Eric Risser’s PhD at Trinity College Dublin. Dr Risser found-
ed the company in March 2014 with Neal O’Gorman and Bart Kiss, and the company has grown with the
support of DIT Hothouse, Enterprise Ireland and the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) among others.

Artomatix won the NVIDIA Early Stage Challenge in 2015 and closed a €2.1 million seed round in early
2017.

Artomatix technology is now being used by companies to create 3D digital art for immersive applications,
including using augmented reality to enable potential customers to ‘see’ their products in various environ-
ments.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

Artomatix participated in New Frontiers. The company, which now
employs 17 people, moved into the DIT Hothouse Incubator at DIT
Grangegorman in autumn 2016.

“The DIT Hothouse Incubator has provided us with a re-
ally great office, everything is new and very modern and
convenient, and features such as the communal meeting
rooms really suit start-ups. It works for us as it is a turnkey
solution - they take care of the facilities we need like Internet
and security and cleaning services, and we can concentrate
on growing the business.”

Dr Eric Risser, CTO Artomatix

12 Base your start-up in the DIT Hothouse Incubator

LOCATIBLE: TECHNOLOGY TO Medical
Real-Time
TRACK PEOPLE AND ITEMS AND Location
IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

Locatible, a New Frontiers participant at DIT
Hothouse, is finding market traction with its real-time
micro-location technology.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Keeping track of assets in real time – whether it is inventory in a supply chain or patients and equipment
in hospitals – is key to managing resources effectively and making cost savings.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

Locatible provides real-time micro-location technology for warehousing and healthcare that can track as-
sets, including indoors. Those assets might be products in a supply chain (anything from a high-end luxury
item such as a handbag to white goods such as fridges or TVs) down to a single serial number or they could
be pieces of equipment in a medical facility (such as wheelchairs or IV stands) or even patients themselves.

In warehouses, where Locatible technology locates inventory, trucks and trailers to within 5cm, this preci-
sion tracking increases lift truck /labour/UPMH performance by 15-20%.

In healthcare, the technology locates patients, caregivers and equipment to within 3 feet, thereby increas-
ing patient flow, reducing bed turnover time and making use of equipment more efficient.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

Irish technology company Locatible took part in the New Frontiers programme at DIT Hothouse and they
are now finding receptive markets for their micro-location technology in the healthcare and warehouse
markets.

The business has grown organically and rapidly in the US and the Middle East and is now starting to gain
traction in Asia. 

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

Locatible took part in the New Frontiers business accelerator programme at
DIT Hothouse, and DIT Hothouse continues to facilitate the company’s
work with DIT researchers on technology development. The company
is now based in the DIT Hothouse Incubator in DIT Grangegorman.

“DIT Hothouse shaped us through the workshops and
mentors at New Frontiers. We wouldn’t be where we are
going now if we hadn’t done New Frontiers, so we have
everything to thank them for.”

Rónán O’Cóigligh, CEO Locatible

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | Visit DIT Hothouse Incubator 13

RIFFSTATION:

TECHNOLOGY THAT STRIKES THE
RIGHT CHORD WITH GUITARISTS

Music
Software

DIT spin-out Sonic Ladder developed technology to
allow users to isolate guitar chords on digital music tracks,
and the company was acquired by guitar giant Fender.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Guitar players want to improve their skills or simply enjoy playing along with tracks, but they need to know
what chords to play.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

Riffstation is software that automatically detects the guitar chords on music tracks and displays them. By
isolating and, if needed, slowing down the chords using Riffstation, the user can learn to play along with
the track.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

The technology behind Riffstation has its origins in Dublin Institute of Technology’s (DIT’s) Audio Research
Group. Dan Barry and Dr Mikel Gainza founded the group after they met each other at DIT. Sony licensed
technology from the DIT group for their Playstation Singstar game in order to remove the vocal recording
directly from digital tracks and render them usable for karaoke.
In 2010 the DIT group spun out a company, Sonic Ladder Ltd, which in 2012 launched Riffstation, a digital
application that allows users to import audio and learn basic guitar chords for any song using a suite of
interactive tools.
Its automatic chord recognition had a wide appeal for the guitar community and Riffstation has now been
developed for web and mobile platforms.
In 2015, guitar giant Fender acquired Sonic Ladder.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

DIT Hothouse has supported the DIT researchers behind Sonic Ladder and
Riffstation at every step of commercialising the research.
When Sony expressed an interest in the technology DIT Hothouse
worked on the licensing agreement and has continued to support
the Sonic Ladder team as they developed and commercialised Riff-
station.

“As researchers and musicians ourselves, we have always wanted
the music world to benefit from our research and Tom Flanagan and
DIT Hothouse have been our biggest supporters on that. Growing up
we had posters of our favourite rock stars on the wall and Fender was
the guitar. I bought my first Fender when I was 15 years old. So work-
ing with Fender now has an element of childhood dreams come true.”
Dan Barry, Vice President, Research and Development
at Fender Digital and CEO/Co-Founder of Riffstation

14 Put DIT technologies to work for you

MOVIDIUS: Computer
Vision
PARALLEL THINKING FOR POWER-
EFFICIENT COMPUTER VISION Hardware

Movidius prepared for success with early incubation in
DIT Hothouse and is now a game-changer in computer
vision and intelligence.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Advances in computer vision, video analytics and artificial intelligence are opening new opportunities for
visually intelligent computers that ‘perceive’ and respond to their environments, including autonomous
cars, robots surveillance cameras and other sensor devices that can communicate with each other as part
of the ‘Internet of Things’.

But these functions require large amounts of rapid information processing, and this can drain power sourc-
es quickly, rendering them impractical or costly.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

Movidius developed a silicon-based chip that enables a parallel approach to processing technology. This in
turn allows applications with high data loads to operate in a power-efficient way. Ultimately the aim is to
give the power of sight to machines.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

Seán P. Mitchell, Dr David Moloney and Dr Valentin Muresan founded the company in 2005. They moved to
DIT Hothouse at Dublin’s Docklands where they prepared the business to be more investor ready. The com-
pany set up offices in Dublin and Romania, secured venture capitalist investment and went from strength
to strength. The company formed a partnership with Google in 2016 to accelerate the adoption of deep
learning within mobile devices. Later that year it was announced that Intel was acquiring Movidius as part
of Intel’s Perceptual Computing Group in California. Movidius has won numerous awards, including the
Outstanding EMEA Semiconductor Company for 2016 from the Global Semiconductor Alliance.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

DIT Hothouse provided office space and development support for Movidius
in its early days, enabling the entrepreneurs to develop their business
plan. DIT Hothouse also facilitated the start-up’s relationship with
Enterprise Ireland, which in turn helped Movidius to secure later in-
vestment.

“DIT Docklands gave us a physical location and also a
structure to get our thoughts and business plan together
and to prepare to pitch to investors. That structure and
getting that focus is very powerful.”

Seán P. Mitchell, Co-Founder and COO of Movidius,
Senior Director of Engineering at Intel’s Perceptual
Computing Group

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 15

WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE Automotive
ROAD: BRIDGESTONE LICENSES DIT Technology
TECHNOLOGY FOR TYRE TESTING

Global tyre manufacturer Bridgestone is using

technology developed at DIT to test its products and improve

the time to market of its tyres.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Bridgestone wanted a technology that could perform accelerated usage and testing across its various
tyres and industrial rubber products, like conveyor belts and rubber tracks.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

Dynamet (DYNAmic Multi-axial Elastomer Testing) is an enabling technology for rubber testing and analy-
sis developed at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). It uses bubble inflation technology to enable rubber
stress testing under various conditions.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

Dynamet was developed by researcher Dr Niall Murphy, a Lecturer in the School of Manufacturing and
Design Engineering at DIT Bolton Street. Niall has a long track record in designing test apparatus for rubber
components. Bridgestone, the largest manufacturer of tyre and rubber products in the world, licensed the
technology to test new materials and designs for worldwide deployment and improve the time to market
of its tyres. The technology allows Bridgestone, which produces in the region of 500 million tyres each
year, to carry out accelerated usage and age testing on tyres and other products and to immediately test
new materials and designs. DIT researchers are continuing to work with Bridgestone on the technology.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

DIT Hothouse saw the immediate commercial application of Dynamet and protected the intellectual prop-
erty. A commercialisation strategy and marketing campaign attracted interest from tyre manufacturers
and DIT Hothouse negotiated a non-exclusive licence to Bridgestone.

DIT Hothouse is also exploring other commercial applications for the Dynamet platform technology.

“The technology allows Bridgestone, which produces in the region of 500 million tyres
each year, to carry out accelerated usage and age testing on tyres and other products
and to immediately test new materials and designs.”

Dr. Katsuhiko Tsunoda, General Manager, Central Research, Bridgestone Corporation

16 Put DIT technologies to work for you

NOT SCRATCHING THE SURFACE: Automotive
C&F AUTOMOTIVE APPLY PROTECTIVE Technology
DIT COATING TO CAR PARTS

C&F Automotive are using technology developed at DIT

to improve the durability and scratch resistance of car parts.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Irish company C&F Automotive needed to find a durable surface coating that could be applied to external
aluminium car trim parts. The surface coating needed to meet with car manufacturer specifications, to
withstand corrosion and to be anti-scratch resistant.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology (CREST) developed an innovative sol-gel surface
coating technology, called Dualion, and worked with C&F Automotive to reformulate and enhance the
technology to meet car manufacturer needs.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

C&F Automotive were referred to DIT Hothouse by an existing client, Graph Engineering. This led to trials
of Dualion for C&F Automotive’s aluminium car trims for Volvo and Daimler. CREST and C&F Automotive
employees then reformulated the Dualion technology, within the scope of the existing patent to meet the
needs of C&F Automotive’s client Volkswagen.

To bring the new technology to market, C&F Automotive needed to scale up to full size car parts, which re-
quired new equipment and large volumes. T. E. Laboratories, an Irish environmental laboratory and chem-
ical manufacturer based in Carlow had the capabilities to be a bulk supply chain partner to scale up the
new technology. They now handle the production of Dualion for C&F Automotive and have developed a
new production line that is bringing them additional clients and business.

The Westmeath plant has secured contracts with Volvo for their newly launched 2017 models, and Daim-
ler has also accepted the enhanced Dualion surface coating technology.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

DIT Hothouse was the facilitator between C&F Automotive and CREST and directed and encouraged both
parties to embark on an Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership Project. DIT Hothouse patented and
licensed Dualion to C&F Automotive and manages the collaboration on an ongoing basis.

“This technology will keep 50 jobs in Ireland and will generate sales of €10 – €20 million
annually at full production.”

Mike Young, Business Development Manager, C&F Automotive

“The collaboration with C&F Automotive allowed CREST to develop a technology platform
for Aluminium treatment for use in other industries such as, aerospace, medical device
and electronics sectors, as well as automotive, and has been worth around €500,000 in
industry and State funding directly to DIT to build up its research community”

Brendan Duffy, Centre Manager, DIT CREST

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 17

IV REGULATION:
RUNNING HOT OR COLD TO

SAVE LIVES IN AN EMERGENCY Medtech
Start-up

DIT graduate Sean-Paul White is developing a portable

device that can instantly regulate the temperature of intravenous fluids in

order to treat a range of symptoms from hypothermia to brain trauma.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Intravenous (IV) fluids offer a route to quickly and effectively control the body’s core temperature. This can
be useful in the case of a medical emergency such as heat stroke or brain trauma (where reducing body
temperature can protect the brain) or hypothermia (where the body’s temperature needs to be raised).
But at present there is no portable device to easily manage the temperature of IV fluids at the site of an
emergency or during patient transport.

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

The IV fluid thermal regulator is a portable device that can set and manage the temperature of IV fluids.
The technology guides the IV tube alongside a thermoelectric plate, and with the flick of a switch the user
can set it to heat or cool the IV fluid as required.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

Sean-Paul White originally came up with the idea for the IV fluid thermal regulator for his thesis when he
was an undergraduate student of product design in DIT. He spoke with emergency service practitioners
about their needs and he designed an initial prototype. Sean-Paul has since founded the company IV Reg-
ulation to further develop and commercialise the technology. He is currently working on a demonstration
prototype that will enable him to develop a production line and move to getting a CE mark.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

Sean-Paul took part in the inaugural student incubator programme Hothouse i-Cubed at DIT Hothouse’s
new purpose built incubator and research facility in Grangegorman. The three-month programme provided
guidance, funding and support from industry professionals. Sean-Paul later moved on to the New Frontiers
programme at DIT Hothouse, which encourages and supports start-up companies.

“DIT Hothouse is where my business knowledge comes from.
To other innovators I would say if you are thinking about do-
ing it, then just do it. There are so many people out there
who are interested in advising you, and everything you
don’t know you just need to learn along the way.”

Sean-Paul White, Founder and CEO, IV Regulation

18 Put DIT technologies to work for you

JARU FOODS: Food
Innovation
COOKING UP KOREAN
CUISINE FOR IRELAND

DIT graduate Gunmoo Kim saw a gap in the Irish
market for Korean foods, and his company Jaru Foods is
satisfying that appetite.

WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?

Most of the existing Korean food products in Irish and European markets are imported from China or from
Korea, and it is hard to trace the process and monitor the quality. 

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

Jaru produces Korean food using locally grown and seasonal Irish ingredients with old traditional Korean
recipes and new food science technology. The company is focusing on producing enticing products for do-
mestic and international markets.

WHAT’S THE STORY SO FAR?

Many of Gunmoo Kim’s childhood memories in Korea, where his father runs a food company, are all about
food. Gunmoo came to Ireland in 2010 to gain new experiences and while working in a small Korean
restaurant in Dublin, he could see market potential for genuine Korean food in Ireland. He studied in DIT for
a BSc in Culinary Entrepreneurship and began trading in September 2016.

Jaru started serving Korean hot foods (such as Kimchi fried rice, Korean BBQ marinated beef and fermented
sauces), trading in lunchtime food markets and weekend farmers markets. Using the company’s main
products - Kimchi, fermented sauces, and pickles - on the menus allowed Jaru to conduct market valida-
tion, and these stalls became the busiest in the markets, serving 100-150 customers over a two-hour
lunchtime.

Along with the market business, Jaru participated in SuperValu’s Food Academy programme in 2016 and
received support from the Dublin City Local Enterprise Office to develop packagings and brandings.

Jaru started to stock in SuperValu in March 2017, and now its Kimchi can be found in 18 SuperValu stores
and 5 independent food stores.

HOW DID DIT HOTHOUSE HELP?

In 2016, Jaru participated in Hothouse i-Cubed student accelerator pro-
gramme and had many supports at that early stage. In 2017 Jaru is
now participating in the New Frontier Programme at DIT and develop-
ing the company’s next plans with supports from the DIT Hothouse
team.  

“The sessions at Hothouse i-Cubed were really helpful,
we could develop all the important things for a start-
up: revenue streams, business model, market validations
and so on. We had a grant of 5,000 Euro from this pro-
gramme which really helped us get started.”

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 19

Launched DIT DIT Hothouse licensed
Hothouse along with novel antenna
a new IP policy for DIT technology to
DecaWave
DIT Hothouse won
Shell LiveWire Award DIT Hothouse Created the Dublin
for Services to Alumnus Equiendo Region Innovation
Enterprise raises €1.5m in Consortium (DRIC) for
investment and technology transfer
DIT Hothouse secured signs contract with and enterprise
first significant licence O2 Telefonica support for Institute
to Sony for digital of Technology Tallaght
signal processing for DIT Hothouse (ITT), Institute of
inclusion in their recognised as a Technology
Playstation SingStarTM very progressive Blanchardstown (ITB),
game. knowledge transfer Institute of Art,
office Design and
Technology (IADT), Launch of the
National College of Enterprise Ireland
Ireland (NCI) funded New
Frontiers
Programme

2007 & 2008 2009 & 2010 2011 & 2012

Licences: 9 Licences: 19 Licences: 27
Spin-outs: 5 Spin-outs: 4 Spin-outs: 8

20 Put DIT technologies to work for you

Funding for the new Having already DIT Spin-out Sonic DIT Hothouse DIT Hothouse
DIT Hothouse secured €15m in Ladder is acquired launches their Incubation Centre
student entrepreneur is officially opened
Incubation Centre investment, DIT by Fender programme, I-Cubed
secured from Hothouse Alumnus DIT Hothouse wins
DIT Hothouse European Union the KTI 2017
Enterprise Ireland Sigmoid Pharma Alumnus project puts DIT
raises a further Hothouse in their top Spin-out Company
Invited to lead the DecaWave raises 50 cases for best Impact Award for
review of the €10m to support its €4m bringing the practice across
expansion total investment Kastus
national IP protocol Europe
for Knowledge DRIC recognised by raised by the Dr. Paul Maguire
Transfer Ireland international panel company to €30m DIT Hothouse Senior Licensing
as the gold standard Alumnus Movidius Executive at DIT
acquired by Intel for Hothouse wins the
for Knowledge
Transfer Office €355m KTI Knowledge
Transfer Achiever
consortia DIT Hothouse team of the Year Award
closed their 100th
DIT Hothouse
licence celebrates ten
years of success
First incubator clients
set up in the new DIT SO FAR

Hothouse Incubator Licences: 139
Spin-outs: 36
2013 & 2014 2015 & 2016

Licences: 39 Licences: 45
Spin-outs: 9 Spin-outs: 10

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 21

DIT’s research mission is to undertake research that is na- Society, Culture & Enterprise, researchers across the arts,
tionally relevant, internationally competitive and strategically social sciences and in business investigate key challenges
important. DIT maintains a strong focus on problem-solving facing inclusive and reflective societies.
research that makes a real impact on people’s life experience.
DIT’s Research Action Plan has put in place a programme of
DIT has a large and diverse academic community of over investment to concentrate and consolidate DIT’s research
850 full time staff at all levels of the research activity within these four signature themes. Aca-
career spectrum and from diverse disciplines demic Leaders have been appointed to lead
enabling us to foster a vibrant inter-disci- this thematic development and to bring
plinary research environment. Over the international visibility to the research
last 10 years, researchers at DIT have activity. The new Information, Com-
attained many notable achievements munications & Entertainment Insti-
including significant awards from all tute (ICE), for instance, will consoli-
major national funding agencies and date DIT’s strengths in ICT, creating
in European Framework Programmes. vertical integration from the enabling
technologies to software development
Organised in research centres and to content and entertainment applica-
groups housed within multi-disciplinary tions. Similarly, DIT’s extensive research
Research Institutes, DIT’s research, devel- activity in business, entrepreneurship and
opment and innovation activities that address management, social and public policy and the
areas of major societal challenge. creative & performing arts will be supported with the

The theme of Environment, Energy & Health, for instance, in- creation of a new Research Institute to nurture and expand
vestigates and applies new technologies to find sustainable this activity.
solutions to global environmental challenges such as more
efficient, cleaner and sustainable sources of energy, improv- DIT Hothouse has been central to the development of DIT’s
ing air quality and food safety. In the area of Information, research and innovation over the last ten years. DIT Hot-
Communications and Media Technologies, our researchers house demonstrates our strong commitment to the knowl-
work on solutions that support the use of ICT in areas rang- edge economy and our proactive approach to working with
ing from commerce to social policy and healthcare. The Focas industry and the successful creation and transfer of knowl-
Research Institute houses research teams at the forefront edge. Recognising that innovation is fundamental to securing
in driving change in several key sectors, including health- national competitive advantage and long-term sustainability,
care, manufacturing and pharma. And within the theme of DIT Hothouse plays a crucial role in positioning DIT as a truly
engaged, comprehensive, research-informed institution.

DIT Hothouse demonstrates our strong commitment to
the knowledge economy and our proactive approach to
working with industry and the successful creation and
transfer of knowledge.

22 Put DIT technologies to work for you

How do you rate the achievements of DIT Hothouse over the Innovation can give companies a competitive advantage,
last 10 years? whether it’s extending the shelf life of food that now needs
to be exported further afield or developing new products and
A decade ago, I started with a clean sheet of paper and set new services that will gain traction in new markets.  We are
down targets for licences and spin-outs and jobs over the very capable of being innovative and winning new business.
next five years based on what I saw other universities doing
around the world. If you were to take a fresh sheet of paper and
sketch out plans today for the next five
I’m glad to say that we not only reached years of Hothouse, what would they be?
those goals but went far beyond them,
building a strong knowledge transfer Over the next 5 years, I’d like us to
ecosystem in DIT, doing 10 to 20% of achieve more than we have achieved
the licences in Ireland on just 3% of the over the last 7-10 years to show that
national research expenditure.    we are continuing to improve our per-
formance. We want to stimulate the
And we are strengthening innovation creation of more than 2,000 smart
more broadly in the Dublin region. We economy jobs, help companies attract
have engaged with students, research- investments of over 200 million Euros,
ers, state agencies, entrepreneurs and through licences and startups based on
businesses ranging from start-ups and DIT research and through the support pro-
SMEs to multinational giants, and have had grammes we have now and the new programmes
a significant impact. we are developing for entrepreneurs and business lead-
ers. The new incubator space we have in Grangegorman and
We have seen our DIT researchers and Hothouse alumni the growing ecosystem we have can help us achieve this.  We
flourish and have created a powerful ecosystem around our have developed year-on-year targets already that are ambi-
new Incubator in Grangegorman that positions us well for the tious but achievable to help us get there.
future.

Brexit is on the minds of many Irish enterprises when think- And looking ahead to the next 10 years?
ing about the coming years. How do you view it from an in-
novation perspective? The pace of change in the world is rapid, and that brings
enormous opportunities. When I think about the future –
For every change there are opportunities and threats, and the Internet of Things, climate change and the need for new
you need to keep an eye on the treats but the best way to sources of energy, self-driving vehicles, the sharing economy,
achieve growth is to focus on the opportunities. personalised medicines, changes in the needs of our popula-
tion both young and old – there is such tremendous scope for
Just as we found a wealth of innovation come along during creativity, invention, innovation, new business models and
the last decade or so in times of recession, I believe that in- new businesses.  It is very exciting.  Everything needs to be
novative students, researchers, entrepreneurs and business reinvented or reimagined.  It’s a great time to be alive!
leaders in Ireland can find opportunities in Brexit. 

Over the next 5 years…we want to stimulate the creation
of more than 2,000 smart economy jobs and help
companies attract investments of over €200 million.

dit.ie/hothouse | Call +35314027179 | 23

Put DIT Hothouse
technologies
to work for you

dit.ie/hothouse

Knowledge Transfer Office New Frontiers
DIT Hothouse DIT Hothouse Incubator
Dublin Institute of Technology Greenway Hub
Aungier Street Dublin Institute of Technology
D02HW71 Grangegorman Lower
+35314027179 D07H6K8
+35314025327