A new business development centre at the Institute of Technology in Letterkenny will be officially opened by the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, on Monday.
Six companies have already located in the centre, including a German IT consultancy firm, Ebylls Ltd, which hopes to employ up to 50 people over the next three years. Others include the UK-based Sterling Fluid Systems Ltd and Eland Technologies from the US.
The centre is equipped to meet the needs of technology-based businesses, and the aim is to forge closer links between the college and industry.
The demand for such on-campus incubation space was highlighted by the fact that six companies moved in on day one when the centre opened in July. It is expected that a clean-room shell will be occupied shortly, and the complex also includes an engineering training centre.
Staff at the institute say the advantage for companies, in addition to the facilities, is that they have easy access to highly trained graduates. Increased emphasis has been put on information technology training at the college recently. The centre will also customise training programmes to meet a company's needs in e-commerce, finance, human resources development and information technology. Inquiries about these courses and other facilities at the new business development centre from local business and industry are welcome.