Comparative Evaluation of the Animation Industry in Brazil and Ireland, and Opportunities for Co-production Strategies.

The teaching of entrepreneurship and enterprise development to students, presents certain challenges for higher education providers. The Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dún Laoghaire has piloted a novel approached to practice-based learning in the field of entrepreneurship education.

The Department of Business and Enterprise at IADT has expertise in business and teaching, across areas as diverse as retail management, accounting and taxation, market research, marketing and advertising. Staff within the Department partnered with the management of a local enterprise, the CoCo Markets, to develop a “learning by doing” project for students on the Bachelor of Business in Entrepreneurship programme at the Institute.

The CoCo Markets, held weekly in the People’s Park in Dún Laoghaire, is an initiative of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The markets host dozens of stalls that supply organic and artisan produce and crafts from local farmers, growers and producers. The market is managed by Ms. Jackie Spillane, who worked closely with IADT during the development and operation of this innovative project, known as the Stalls project.

The key aim of the Stalls project is to teach business students how to experience “live trading” and to deal with specific business challenges. Groups of IADT business students trade as a micro business at the market, over a two week period. During this time, the groups are required to research and develop a suitable product or service concept. They are then expected to acquire and sell the products or services at stalls at the markets. Staff from IADT and the CoCo Markets provide mentoring to the students from the inception of their ideas to the completion of the project. The students are assessed throughout the process on their abilities in marketing, accounting and management.

This project has been run as part of the academic assessment requirement for the Bachelor of Business in Entrepreneurship programme at IADT for the past five years. The success of this project has informed the development of the curriculum for the programme and for the development of the assessment strategy for the programme.

This project has encouraged staff to explore extending authentic project opportunities with other stakeholders in the community.

“The project is a great example of meaningful collaboration between two local public sector organisations – the innovative use of public space such as the Markets to enhance the learning environment of third level students is beneficial to both organisations. The presence of students in the Park attracts interest from both the existing traders and from customers and contributes to the positive atmosphere in the Park.”Jackie Spillane - CoCo Market Manager

“There have been significant benefits in working with Dún Laoghaire Markets on the Stalls Project. The Stalls Project brings visibility and authenticity to the students work and also contributes to the development of student confidence. Its success is also contributing to the development of other collaborations on assessment projects with local community groups.”Conor Heagney - Senior Lecturer in Accountancy and Finance, IADT

Innovation & Commercialisation Manager

Mr. Dominic Mullan

Institute of Art, Design and TechnologyKill Avenue, Dún LaoghaireCo. Dublin, IrelandT: +353 (0)1 2394625

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Senior Lecturer in Accountancy and FinanceConor HeagneyInstitute of Art, Design and TechnologyKill Avenue, Dún LaoghaireCo. Dublin, IrelandT: +353 (0)1 239 4753E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Irish SME, Twelve Horses, provide integrated online marketing services to a global base of clients in industries ranging from financial services to destination marketing and online retail. Since 2000, the company has worked with many of the world’s largest brands to create consistently excellent web and online communication programmes.

Twelve Horses wished to develop a web-based business application which would solve a number of problems experienced by business users when using existing reporting and business intelligence tools. The company did not have the in-house expertise to develop this technology and embarked on a collaborative project between the NDRC (National Digital Research Centre Ltd), the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) Dún Laoghaire and University College Dublin (UCD).

Hilary Kenna, a lecturer in Design and Digital Media at IADT, was the principal researcher from IADT on the project. Her expertise in visualisation, graphic design principles and usability was a direct fit for the requirements of the software development process in this project.

The project involved the research, development, commercialisation and successful market launch of an online data visualisation platform. Hilary Kenna engaged with Twelve Horses and their customers to determine key user profiles, ascertain requirements and prototype user interface designs and visualization applications. The collaboration between Twelve Horses, IADT, NDRC and UCD resulted in Vizi. This is a web based business application that uses the latest research in data visualisation, web design and usability to enable business users to interrogate large multi-dimensional datasets in real time in a visual web based user interface. Vizi is currently being commercialised via Twelve Horses.

This partnership has resulted in a long-term sustainable relationship between Twelve Horses and IADT. In November 2010, the Vizi collaboration was shortlisted for and successfully awarded the Irish Software Association Award for Best Industry Collaboration with an Academic Institution. In addition, Twelve Horses has hired two IADT graduates from Visual Communication Design, and Multimedia Programming in the last year.

“The Vizi project has enabled Twelve Horses, to utilise internationally recognised R&D practices in data visualization, software design and usability to build a new product that solves an identified business need. These skill sets would not have been available to us outside the scope of the project. This kind of collaborative project is a great way for an SME  to undertake innovative translational research in conjunction with academic institutions. We have no hesitation in recommending academic collaboration as a gateway to innovation to the SME sector.”Gabrielle Stafford - Managing Director, Twelve Horses Ltd.

“Vizi was part of NDRC’s Catalyser Programme, which enables collaborations between NDRC, academic partners and industry experts in order to translate research outputs into defined product offerings in identifiable markets. The success of the Vizi project highlights the benefits of the collaborative translational research approach.”Majella Murphy - Commercial Development Leader, NDRC

“From IADT’s perspective, the Vizi project has presented a unique opportunity to gain experience in collaborative research projects with a commercialisation focus. The Vizi project has provided invaluable PR and dissemination opportunities to market IADT as a potential partner for industry/academic collaborative projects to other commercial companies and funding agencies.”Hilary Kenna - Principal Investigator, Vizi Project, IADT

Innovation and Commercialisation Manager      Mr. Dominic Mullan

Institute of Art, Design and TechnologyKill Avenue, Dún LaoghaireCo. Dublin, IrelandT: +353 (0)1 2394625

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Lecturer in Design and Digital MediaHilary KennaInstitute of Art, Design and TechnologyKill Avenue, Dún LaoghaireCo. Dublin, IrelandT: +353 (0)1 239 4676E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Research and innovation at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology is built around the Institute’s core expertise of Art, Design and Technology. The Faculty of Creative Arts brings expertise in areas relating to digital media. Specifically, it delivers innovation projects in the following areas:

Outputs from the Faculty of Creative Arts include 26 peer-reviewed publications; 1 book, 30 productions and 21 national and international exhibitions.  Work has been funded from a range of sources including National Digital Research Centre, Enterprise Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and EU Programmes.  Researchers have strong collaborations with the digital media industry.

The Centre for Creative Technologies and Applications (CCTA) carries out research and innovation projects to understand and contribute to the interaction between people and technology. The research has numberous applications including Gaming, Multimedia, Psychology, eLearning, Assistive Technologies, Teaching and Learning, eBusiness; and emerging disciplines such as cyberpsychology. 

CCTA Research in Cyberpsychology is underpinned by the VLAB an immersive virtual reality system. The system immerses users in ambionic sounds and high-end 3D graphic environments projected on four walls. It uses a wireless motion tracking system to support research in:

The research has been supported with funding from Enterprise Ireland and EU Programmes. Outputs from the centre include 44 peer-reviewed publications; 8 books and 6 book chapters.

The Centre for Public Cultures at IADT carries out research and dissemination into a number of areas relating to citizenship and the society.

Dr. Andrew PowerHead of Faculty of Film, Art and Creative TechnologiesInstitute of Art, Design & TechnologyT: +353 (0)1 214 4734E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Dr Josephine Browne

Head of Faculty of Enterprise and HumanitiesInstitute of Art, Design & TechnologyT: +353 (0)1 239 4785E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) provides a comprehensive range of specialist rehabilitation services to patients from throughout Ireland who, as a result of accident, illness or injury, have acquired a physical or cognitive disability and who require specialist medical rehabilitation.

As part of her engagement with organisations in the local community, Dr. Josephine Browne, Head of the Faculty of Enterprise and Humanities, identified a collaborative opportunity with the hospital around documenting the photographic achievements of patients and staff via a fundraising calendar. Whilst there had been recognition of the potential for a project of this kind for some time, the hospital had not been able to move this forward.

A major element of the third year of the IADT Bachelor of Business in Entrepreneurship course is the undertaking of a social enterprise project. The students have experience in project planning, marketing, public relations and selling through their work in the fi rst two years of study. The social enterprise project provides them with the opportunity to develop their skills while helping others. Over the years, students have engaged with the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Markets, the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Enterprise Board, the Chinese Embassy (via a student trip to the World Expo in Shanghai) and numerous charitable organisations. The Calendar idea developed from an initiative by a former NRH patient and the hospital’s Therapeutic Recreation Service, supported by the NRH Foundation. The former patient, an accomplished photographer, offered to teach a weekly photography course to patients on a voluntary basis, and classes were then arranged. Following the success of this initiative, a digital photography competition was organised for all current and past patients nationwide, and NRH staff.

The winning entries were selected for inclusion in the calendar and the hospital then arranged for its printing. IADT’s Entrepreneurship students promoted the calendar in the media, arranged promotional events and helped to sell the calendars. The students’ efforts resulted in the sale of almost 1,000 calendars, with all proceeds raised going to the hospital.

The project yielded multiple benefits for all those involved. Patients and staff of the NRH enjoyed the fact that their photographic work was widely publicised, reaching an extensive audience. The profile of the National Rehabilitation Hospital, and the importance of its ongoing fundraising efforts, was highlighted, while significant funds were raised. IADT’s Entrepreneurship students had the opportunity to work closely with senior executives in the hospital and in supporting organisations. The team demonstrated their ability to secure coverage of the calendar in the written press, on radio, at a wide range of events and via a number of partner channels such as the Dún Laoghaire Business Association.

The project increased the students’ appreciation of the relevance of their entrepreneurial and marketing skills within an organisation such as the NRH. The project has strengthened the relationship between IADT and the National Rehabilitation Hospital, located within one kilometre of each other. This closer relationship creates an environment where future partnership opportunities are more likely to be identified and exploited. The expertise of the hospital in the area of, say, motivation, could help students significantly. Meanwhile the strengths of the IADT in the entrepreneurial area could also help patients to develop their business potential. It is therefore hoped to use such complimentary attributes to deepen the partnership through further projects in the future.

Testimonial

“The collaboration between the IADT students and NRH on the Marketing and Distribution of the 2013 Charity Calendar has been a hugely positive experience for the hospital. The students’ contribution to the project has helped us enormously, particularly in these times of reduced staffing at NRH. They have taken on each task with the utmost professionalism, they have been innovative, creative and hard-working in their approach and they are a great credit to IADT.”

Rosemarie Nolan National Rehabilitation Hospital

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Conor HeagneyFaculty of Enterprise and HumanitiesDún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and TechnologyKill Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin,  IrelandT: +353-1-239 4000E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vidatum Technologies provides IT solutions and technology management to educational institutions. The company helps universities and  colleges continuously improve their student services and foster superior educational environments through enhanced IT solutions. The company is based in Dún Laoghaire and has offices in Jordan.

The company’s flagship product, Vidatum Academic™, helps institutes to publish online profiles of their researchers, showcase research achievements and measure research outputs. Originally developed in conjunction with UCD, Vidatum Academic™ has enjoyed significant penetration in the Irish market and is currently used by five universities in Ireland. The company is keen to promote Vidatum Academic™ in the UK market. Vidatum’s internal teams have enhanced the system’s functionality to suit the export market, but CEO Simon Cullen was acutely aware of the importance of user interface design as a potential area of competitive advantage (or weakness!) for the company.

Simon met Dominic Mullan, IADT’s Innovation, Commercialisation and Development Manager, to explore if the Institute could help. IADT’s key focus is on the convergence of creativity, technology and enterprise. Many IADT programmes and research strengths lie in areas where a combination of technology and design come into play. John Montayne of the Department of Technology and Psychology teaches on multimedia and visual communication programmes and has been involved in interface design and usability for many years. He has assisted a number of businesses to improve the overall usability of products/software while also improving the user experience of a system. With this background, John, and Research Assistant, Mohammed Cherbatji, were ideally placed to work with Vidatum on the project.

The starting point for the project was an in-depth  analysis and mapping of the functionality of Vidatum Academic™, coupled with examination of the profiles and experiences of typical users. Based on this exploratory phase, the IADT team entirely reconfigured the layout and flow of the tasks a typical user would undertake, and radically redesigned the user interface. The team provided Vidatum’s developers with all the visuals and guidance required to implement the new designs. In this respect, the project was highly collaborative, involving frequent communication and meetings between Vidatum and the IADT team. In a second phase of collaboration, IADT facilitated user groups with representatives of several Irish universities, allowing any particular usability issues to be identified and addressed.

To support the costs of the project, Simon Cullen and Dominic Mullan prepared an application for an Enterprise Ireland Fast Track Innovation Voucher. The Fast Track scheme involves the company match-funding Enterprise Ireland’s contribution, so in this case both the company and Enterprise Ireland contributed e5k. Following a very successful collaboration, Vidatum subsequently applied for a Standard Innovation Voucher, securing a further e5k of funding from Enterprise Ireland.

In essence, Vidatum’s collaboration with IADT  yielded a product which is significantly more attractive to its target audience than was previously the case. The Innovation Voucher support provided a good degree of scope for a very significant collaboration which has brought extensive benefits to the company. Both Vidatum and IADT hope to continue collaborating, be it with further support from Enterprise Ireland or on a consultancy basis. 

The company immediately enjoyed success in securing new clients within Ireland. Moreover, the company can now proactively target the UK market, confident in the knowledge that the user interface of Vidatum Academic™ can be marketed as a key product strength over other options in the market. IADT has also been able to provide some informal guidance to Vidatum as regards the forthcoming Research Assessment Exercise in the UK which examines the research activities and support structures of universities. This provides Vidatum Technologies with a great opportunity to convince potential clients that their product can greatly enhance profiling, publication claiming and collaboration in the academic research environment.

 Testimonial

“The project was a very effective engagement from our company’s point of view. There was a significant improvement in our product, which we could not have achieved without IADT support. The project delivered on two fronts: a vastly improved system which reflects the needs of the target market (the 3rd level education sector) and a highly cost effective project. In terms of value, we do not feel that we would have achieved anything better with any other partner – academic or commercial”.

Simon Cullen Vidatum Technologies

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John MontayneDepartment of Technology and PsychologyDún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and TechnologyKill Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin,  IrelandT: +353-1-239 4000E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.