Leading figures from Ireland’s software sector converge for collaborative showcase.

‘Increase in industry – academic interactions helping to further enhance Ireland as a centre for software excellence” - Minister Lenihan

Mr  Conor  Lenihan  T.D.,  Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, today  (Tuesday, October 19th 2010) addressed leading academic and industry figures  in  the  software  sector  at  a special software industry-focused showcase  hosted by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Software Innovation Network (ISIN).

The  joint  SFI  –  ISIN  initiative  was  held to further strengthen links between  personnel  in  the  scientific research community and those in the software industry.

Minister  Lenihan stated that the occasion was providing “A timely boost to a  sector  that  has  proven  itself to be among the most resilient in this country,  and which has excelled on an international scale over a number of years”.

“Ireland’s indigenous software sector alone employs in the region of 10,000 people  across  500  companies, accounting for approximately €1.4billion in export sales.”

“When  any  of  us  -  politicians, agency officials, academics or industry representatives  -  are  promoting Ireland as an industrious and innovative country,  the  performance  of our software industry is automatically among the first examples to be cited”.

Minister Lenihan finished by saying “Events like this Showcase are the best means  of  facilitating commercialisation of new and existing technologies, and  have an enormous potential to engender a spirit of collaboration among all software industry stakeholders”.

The  Irish  Software Innovation Network (ISIN) was established by the Irish Software  Association  with assistance from Enterprise Ireland. The goal of the  ISIN  is  to achieve productive interaction between software companies and  research  institutes,  driving  a  collaborative  research and problem solving ecosystem.