Burren man shortlisted in search to find next big innovation
A Burren man has been shortlisted in a major innovation competition – which could see him turn his company into a global business, as well as win a share of the £33,000 prize fund and a money-can’t-buy opportunity to take part in the NI “Tech Mission” to San Diego and San Francisco.
Niall Cox has been announced as one of the Top 24 in the Northern Ireland Science Park’s INVENT 2015 competition.
His invention ‘Viridi’ allows for the soil-less growing of fruit, vegetables and freshwater fish in a symbiotic environment.
Speaking to Newry Times, Niall said, “For too long businesses have been inefficient with the resources around us. At Viridi we strive to create sustainable fresh food systems. We do this in a symbiotic manner ensuring nothing is wasted in the production of our food.
“This is achieved by placing eco-systems in their ideal conditions allowing them to thrive in their own way without man-made interference.”
Niall will now reveal his innovation to the public for the first time in a special “QuickPitch” event in front of 200 people at W5 in Belfast on Thursday 28th May 2015.
83 of the region’s most innovative individuals and teams put themselves forward for the 2015 search to find inventions with the greatest commercial potential across six sectors- Creative Media and Consumer Internet; Agri-Food; Life & Health; Engineering; Electronics and Enterprise Software.
NISP CONNECT Programme Manager, Peter Edgar said, “We know the people of Northern Ireland are an inventive bunch and this year they have exceeded themselves with over 80 inventions being entered.”
The 12 finalists, chosen after the QuickPitch semi-final event on 28th May, will take part in a unique six month programme at the Science Park which will see their inventions challenged and refined.
Last year’s INVENT 2014 winner, Plotbox, has created software for cemeteries and crematoria to manage all their operations in one place. This “death industry” is estimated at $20 billion annually in the US alone.
Free tickets to the “QuickPitch” semi-final event on 28 May 2015 are available on http://nispconnect.org/event/quick-pitch/ Places are limited so snap up your tickets soon.
For more information on INVENT, visit http://www.invent2015.co/ and www.nispconnect.org
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Posted by Newry Times News
on May 22 2015. Filed under Business, Community.
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