A Leading educationalist has welcomed the FE sector’s partnership with Northern Ireland SMEs to help drive ICT projects.
SERC principal and chief executive Ken Webb was speaking at a recent InnovateUs initiative. This new programme will allow funding to be made available for SME’s to invest in ICT projects.
Said Mr Webb: “This project is about the FE sector demonstrating its value to the private sector, especially SME’s. Technology is a driver of innovation and growth and these projects allows companies to benefit from expert knowledge and practical support.”
ICT projects which can be funded in the InnovateUs project include research and development, where businesses get the opportunity to get personalised support to investigate new technologies. Also mentoring can be given for one to one support as well as knowledge enhancement engagements, which allows existing employees to benefit from industry experts working within their business.
Through InnovateUs companies can work with industry experts to develop new ideas for businesses which may include new systems, e-commerce solutions or software solutions and testing. Each project will be bespoke solutions, which is tailored to the requirements of the organisation.
These projects will also have the additional benefit of generating growth with the IT industry in Northern Ireland, as businesses become more reliant on new technology to help grow their business.
InnovateUs is being delivered by the six Further Education colleges, led by South Eastern Regional College (SERC). The InnovateUs project is financed by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) through its Further Education Sector Employer Support Programme.
The event in the Pump House, Belfast, allowed local businesses to hear from IT industry experts about latest IT trends and to learn more of the assistance that could be offered to their business through the InnovateUs project.
Attending the event local business owner, Maurice Patton, Grave Concern Ireland, said: “As a small business owner, initiatives like these are a great support when trying to develop new business practices and research new markets, my experience has been very positive and the work carried out through the InnovativeUs project will help to grow our business for the future.”
For further details on how businesses can get results from InnovateUs contact Brian Majury on bmajury@serc.ac.uk.