Success in 2021 will depend on how readily companies can innovate and adapt to changing circumstances, says KTI director 

Advanced researchers in Irish third level colleges can look ahead to 2021 with optimism, with their innovative output in the past year having bolstered their global reputation.

Alison Campbell, director of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), says the past year has shown both the short and longer benefits of research and innovation, delivering new products and processes, creating and retaining jobs and contributing to the well-being of society.

Financial success was seen for SiriusXT, a spin-out company from UCD that was awarded €4.5m in June by the European Innovation Council Accelerator programme. This is helping the company roll out its development of the world’s first laboratory soft x-ray microscope that will mean significant progress in the field of disease research and drug discovery.