Business / Innovation

Innovation

Innovation requires people to find new ways of doing things.  At NRC our innovation programmes provide the means whereby college staff and enterprises can interact in order to develop ideas into processes, products or services.

Two types of Innovation/Change

Incremental

• Continuous Improvement - existing products or services
• Process Improvement - greater efficiencies

Paradigm Shift

• Product Development - new products
• Market Development - new markets e.g. export

NRC as your Strategic Partner for Innovation and Change
As a result of every day interactions with customers and suppliers all organisations see the need to innovate, whether it is responding to customer needs or seeking to reduce costs, organisations recognise that standing still is not an option.  At NRC we can provide the extra capacity you need to drive innovation.  The key benefits of having NRC as your strategic partner for innovation are:

Knowledge Transfer programmes – Gain access to highly qualified lecturers who can research possible innovation solutions, develop implementation strategies and work with your staff to implement business improvement.

Technology Transfer programmes – Gain access to excellent industry standard equipment and facilities and our staff can work with you to solve product design issues, undertake rapid proto-typing or product testing and process improvements.

NRC has strategic partnerships with universities and other higher education partners enabling us to provide innovation support in a wide range of disciplines.

Strategic Partnership Model

Funding
NRC has access to a variety of funding programmes designed to assist companies by providing college support at reduced rates (see below for specific funded programmes)

NRC
Over 1000 staff and award winning resources in engineering, construction, ICT, business management, hospitality & tourism, creative industries, health and social care etc.

Company
Desire for change but lacks resources (capital equipment, money or people) to develop the innovation or change required to move to the next level.

Other Benefits of the Strategic Partnership
Typically each partner will want something different from the alliance and each possesses one or more business assets that will help the other.  In this instance both organisations benefit from joint working on company related change/innovation projects.

Strategic Partner Company

• Greater responsiveness to customer demands
• Faster turnaround times
• Reduced waste levels and downtime
• Improved product design and quality
• Greater potential for a wider product range
• Improved relationships with suppliers and customers

Northern Regional College

• New material for curriculum development
• Real projects for student assignments
• Student placement opportunities
• Increased reputation as a business partner
• Access to addtional funding
  Staff development

How to get involved
Introducing innovation in your business requires time and money. You can introduce innovation either gradually or in one go - the timeframe will depend upon a range of factors including the specific changes you want to introduce the availability of resources to complete them speedily.  At NRC we have a number of funded programmes designed to assist companies to get involved

Invest NI Innovation Vouchers
£4,000 of support to take your business to the next level. The Innovation Voucher initiative aims to help Northern Ireland registered small enterprises establish a link with NRC to solve knowledge and technology problems.
Click here to go to the Invest NI Innovation Voucher Page

DEL Connected Fund
The aim of Connected is to develop interaction and stimulate innovation to benefit Northern Ireland universities / colleges Companies
(large and small).
Click here to go to DEL Connected Fund Page

DEL Innovation Fund (2010/2011)
RAPID RESPONSE NI
Click here to go to RAPID RESPONSE NI Page

Invest NI Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP’s)
Click here to go to Invest NI KTP Page

InterTradeIreland Fusion
Click here to go to Intertrade Ireland Fusion Page

KITE (Knowledge and Innovation
Transfer in Engineering)
Click here to go to KITE Page

Call to Action
Collaboration with NRC on innovation projects equals less risk and faster time to market — for you. Join us now and our complementary strengths will provide you with the value and
flexibility you need to unleash new avenues for innovation.

Contact irvine.abraham@nrc.ac.uk
or phone 07554118416

Links
Invest Northern Ireland
Department for Employment and learning
Intertrade Ireland
Association of Northern Ireland Colleges