Flish - Dish of the Day at NISP CONNECT 25K Awards

Innovation is clearly alive and well in Northern Ireland if the latest NISP CONNECT 25K Awards are anything to go by. Billed as 'The Search for the Next Big Thing' heavyweights from the local research community battled it out to win both their category and overall awards at a gala dinner held alongside the historic Titanic Dock and Pumphouse on 29th September.



Flish (from Flat-Dish), a team from Queen’s University Belfast who have developed a low cost, low power antenna capable of picking up satellite signals automatically, which could make satellite dishes as we know them a thing of the past, eventually came out on top. They have walked away with a total prize fund of £13,000 as overall winners of the technology entrepreneur awards which are sponsored by the Bank of Ireland UK, QUB, University of Ulster and AFBI (Agri Food and Biosciences Institute) and supported by NI’s Health and Social Care Trusts.

Designed as a commercial experience the Awards aim to encourage researchers to act on their talents, ideas and energy to produce tomorrow’s leading commercial opportunities.

Congratulations must go to all 10 finalists, all of which had cracking ideas with huge commercial potential. Just maybe we had the pleasure of being witness to the genesis of some great innovations which could be truly life changing. Watch this space. You can read more about the winners here.

Dale Farm 'Creams the Competition' with Record Number of Awards

Dale Farm is celebrating its most successful award season ever - picking up 29 major accolades for Dromona cheese and butter. With international awards from Nantwich, the Great Taste Awards and Frome – the impressive haul has underlined this Northern Ireland company’s status as a world class dairy producer.


Add caption

 Sweeping the board at September's Frome Cheese Show in Somerset, Dale Farm was awarded 14 gold, silver and bronze medals – impressing judges, who included cheese connoisseurs and senior buyers from major supermarkets, outlets and industry bodies.

To find out more about Dale Farm, its products and parent company United Dairy Farmers visit http://www.dalefarm.co.uk/

Local loaf takes flight

NI based Irwin’s Bakery has secured a major deal with retail giant Asda to supply its ‘Irish Batch’ bread into 150 stores in England. The deal, which is worth around £200,000 per annum to the local bakery, will make the loaf (known as ‘Nutty Krust’ in Northern Ireland) available for the first time in England.

“Developing our products into key export markets across the UK and Ireland remains central to our business strategy. We are particularly pleased to have secured this deal with Asda, which will see the iconic Northern Irish batch loaf become widely available through its store network in England,” said Michael Murphy, Commercial Director with Irwin's.

Chris Moore of Irwin's and David Quigg of Asda are pictured celebrating this partnership. For more info visit http://www.irwinsbakery.com/

Redrock showcases innovation at National Ploughing Championships

Rescued NI machinery business Redrock is gearing up for the 80th National Ploughing Championships in Athy (20th-22nd September), where it will showcase its range of redeveloped trailers, mixers, tankers, feeders and slurry pumps.

The County Armagh business, which was saved from the administrators in 2010, has been reaping the benefits of a significant reinvestment and modernisation programme, smashing its first year annual sales target of £5m, doubling its employee base to 42 and growing sales across Irish, UK and European markets. Redrock will host a large stand at The National Ploughing Championships, the latest in a series of key trade shows across Europe that the business has attended.

Redrock Managing Director Frank Flynn comments, “The National Ploughing Championships will be an ideal opportunity for us to showcase the innovation that we have ploughed into our product range over the past 18 months.

“Our recent focus has been to fine tune our range of cattle feeding and slurry handling equipment, using our engineering expertise to ensure we are meeting the needs of today’s farming community.

“We completely redeveloped our trailer, mixer, slurry pump and blockcutter ranges and this week’s event will allow us to highlight the results. For instance, the new Redrock ‘all round’ silage block cutter will be on display. This is a new version of already proven range of silage blockcutters but it can also be used as an industrial heavy-duty bucket for picking up loose materials. This dual purpose means increased efficiencies for the farmer and is a prime example of how we’ve been successfully reshaping our product offering.”

The business’ sister company, steel fabrication specialists Steel Solutions, will share presence at the Redrock exhibition stand and will display an impressive sample construction to demonstrate its metal and roof expertise in farm buildings.

“We’re committed to continually reinvesting into our business and driving the Redrock brand forward in key markets including Ireland. That said, we value the opportunity to meet with farmers firsthand at such an important sector event as the National Ploughing Championships,” Frank concludes.

Cult US skincare range arrives in NI

Beauty therapist to the stars Peter Gilroy and style queen Fiona Hurley were among the first people to trial the NeoStrata skincare range, which has arrived in Northern Ireland for the first time.

The US range was designed by dermatologists in the USA in 1970s and has gained cult status ever since for its anti-aging benefits and effective results on treating dermatological skin conditions. The range is being stocked in selected pharmacies across Northern Ireland – for full information on the range and stockists visit http://www.neostrata.ie/

Electrical Training Trust Calls for New ‘Sparks’ License

The Electrical Training Trust (ETT) has called on delegates at the inaugural ‘Spark Change Electrical Business Conference’ to spark change in the industry by supporting the ‘license to practice’ concept which aims to improve quality standards of Northern Ireland’s electrical sector.

The first of its kind in Northern Ireland, the conference took place on 13th September 2011 at the Dunsilly Hotel, Antrim and provided a unique, free of charge opportunity for NI’s electricians to network and have their chance to be heard on various issues affecting the industry including retention funds, the challenges of labour relations and licensing.

At the conference attendees were briefed on the ‘license to practice’concept, this would provide an official list of Northern Ireland’s electricians who are registered as qualified, competent, legal and safe to work within the industry, similar in design of that used by the gas industry.

Speaking during the conference ETT Chief Executive, Derek Thompson, said: “Electrical contracting is going through a very difficult time with a lack of projects to tender, poor prices, sub-economic bidding, stifled cash flow and increased costs. The conference was developed in a bid to bring together Northern Ireland’s electrical sector for the first time to discuss the issues impinging on the progress of the industry.

“Among these issues discussed was that of the ‘license to practice’concept which is an industry-driven initiative developed to ensure high standards in the electricity sector are being applied consistently throughout Northern Ireland. Our research shows there is an overwhelming support from practitioners, employers and customer with over 90% in favour of the license and today’s conference was an opportunity to further consult the industry on the merits of concept."

Parenting NI Launches New Brand and Manifesto

Parents Advice Centre from today will be known as Parenting NI. The organisation called for a more coordinated approach within and across Government Departments regarding parenting policy, at an event to launch the Parenting NI manifesto. Pip Jaffa, Chief Executive Parenting NI commented,

“From the work of our organisation we are noticing trends which show that parenting in Northern Ireland is now tougher than ever. We are noticing that children are exhibiting anger and aggressive behaviour at a younger age, there are more issues arising from the negative effects of separation and divorce, we are talking with more parents about their own and their children’s emotional and mental health, and there is a rise in the contacts with parents about their child protection concerns. While emphasising the need to ensure that parents do receive appropriate support it is reassuring that parents feel able to ask for help. Parenting is a challenging role and most parents at some time need support.

"As the leading voice on parenting in Northern Ireland, we are seeing an increased requirement for our services. Being a parent is demanding. Added to this, the increased pressure of financial worries, today’s changing society and the media’s tendency to blame parents, mean parents are often under extreme pressure and need to have support to meet their needs.”

The Parenting NI manifesto calls for a series of policy changes in four areas that the organisation feels parents require the most assistance; namely, support, education, giving parents a voice and valuing parents These changes are being called for based on the indisputable fact that parents are a major influence on children’s lives.

Generation Innovation - Stemming the NI Brain Drain

A new initiative, designed specifically to help stem and eventually reverse the brain drain from Northern Ireland has been launched  by the Northern Ireland Science Park and other representatives from the local business community. Generation Innovation is a new initiative designed to build a physical and online network of Northern Ireland’s best young people, before, during and after their third level studies or initial career choice.

At a time when Northern Ireland has the opportunity to become one of the most entrepreneurial knowledge economies in Europe, key to this economic transformation is the availability and active engagement of new young talent who can be tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, business leaders and innovators. Currently, many of Northern Ireland’s brightest and best young people choose to leave NI to study or pursue careers elsewhere and according to research recently published by the Department of Employment and Learning, as many as 6 out of 10 who leave to study in Britain never return here to work. If that is not bad enough, many others only retain fleeting relationships with home and subsequently miss out on opportunities to pursue their careers or start a business here.

Generation Innovation is designed to tackle this issue head on and those behind it are now inviting the Principals in all relevant secondary and FE Colleges to nominate Lower Sixth form students who have high potential. They will then be among the first members of this exclusive network which will be officially launched in the autumn.  

Anyone with queries about the initiative can contact Meagan Blanton at the Northern Ireland Science Park on 028 9073 7806 or via email Meagan.Blanton@nispconnect.org

Boundary Commission - Parliamentary Constituencies Review

Morrows has just been appointed by the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland to support the public launch and subsequent consultation around the Sixth Periodical Review of Parliamentary Constituencies due to take place between September and December 2011. As well as managing the public consultation events across Northern Ireland,which will consider the Commission's Provisional Proposals Report, we will support the organisation's PR and media relations activities throughout the consultation period. For anyone interested in sharing their views on the provisional proposals for the new parliamentary constituencies visit... www.boundarycommission.org.uk to find out more.