Research, Innovation & Engagement

Dr. Chris O’Malley

The VP for Research, Innovation & Engagement is a member of the  Executive Committee of the Institute with Institute-wide responsibility for research, innovation and engagement with industry and the community.

Responsibilities include:

• Overall leadership of IT Sligo’s research, innovation and external engagement activities
• Designing the organisation of, and managing the Research, Innovation and Engagement team and support structures.
• Developing supports for graduate studies and research active staff to achieve the best outcomes from their research.
• Providing intellectual and financial sustainability of the Institute’s research base and for research management and administration of externally sponsored research.
• Developing Enterprise Linkages to encourage graduates with an innovative business idea to establish and run their own companies
• Coordinating the development and submission of high quality and strategically aligned research, innovation and engagement proposals.
• Promotion of IT Sligo’s research, innovation and engagement activities, and the impact in the region.
• Managing IT Sligo’s intellectual property, knowledge transfer processes, and the commercialisation of IT Sligo innovations and developing structures to identity potential invention disclosures.
• Drafting and negotiating awards, contracts, confidentiality agreements.
• Managing the Incubation Centre(s) in support of entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs – in particular driving the HPSU agenda – including the New Frontiers and other such training programmes.
• Supporting the development of spin-outs from applied research within IT Sligo.
• Managing alumni relationships.
• Developing sponsorship and fundraising.