Help GrowVC Re-design itself?

Help us re-design Grow VC

Planning a new Grow VC In this special edition of our newsletter we’re offering our members the chance to contribute to the future Grow VC platform. After several years of existence and growth, we decided it was time for an improvement to the structure and design of Grow VC in order to better serve our growing community. Take part in our research  We are planning several changes to our site, but at the heart of our plans will be our Grow VC members! To ensure that your experience with the new Grow VC will be unforgettable, we are looking for Grow VC members that are willing to be interviewed about their current experiences of the Grow VC website. Your opinion will guide our re-design and shape the future of Grow VC. As a thank you, we will promote the visibility of your profile on Grow VC in our newsletter and amongst our social networks. We’ll also give you a sneak preview of what we’re working on at the key stages of our development. Interested in participating in our research? If you are interested in participating, please apply here no later than Sunday, 3 June! Go to application form. Why listening is important Jon Kolko talk @ IxDA Interaction 10 conference Entrepreneurs are often faced with the challenge of fundamentally changing the way things are done. Some entrepreneurs go as far as attempting to force behavioural changes, without really understanding why someone is currently doing things the way they do. The result is often an inappropriately designed product or service. Jon Kolko, Founder of the Austin Center for Design, gives some motivating advice on how empathy may lead to a successful change of behaviour. Enjoy his very insightful presentation, which has inspired our approach to a user-centred re-design of Grow VC.

Huddle celebrates $24 million Series C round

Huddle celebrates $24 million Series C round

This month, the Huddle team celebrated the completion of its $24 million Series C round of funding. With the capital, Huddle will bring intelligent collaboration to organizations across the globe and continue to drive the transformation of the enterprise content management and social software markets. Co-headquartered in London and San Francisco, the company has also launched operations in New York City to better serve its customers on the U.S. East Coast. It is an exciting time for the company and the team is looking forward to the next stage of the Huddle journey! Read more from Alastair Mitchell, Huddle's CEO, on the funding.

Offshore boat nurtures non-US tech startups

We’re always keen to efforts designed to help nurture startups here at Springwise and providing a place for young companies to grow is one of the best ways of going about it. In the past, we’ve had innovations ranging from startup incubators specifically for the health sector to modular offices for customizing business community spaces. Now Blueseed aims to be the first offshore floating startup community for firms whose employees do not have US work permits.

With plans to launch between the third quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, Blueseed will consist of a large vessel located 12 nautical miles from the coast of California, in non-territorial waters. The ship will house both living and working arrangements, as well as amenities such as a post office and medical centre. The idea behind Blueseed was conceived to help immigrant entrepreneurs having trouble remaining in the US to stay close to the centre of tech innovation — bearing in mind of course that the co-founders of Google, Yahoo! and Intel, among others, came from non-US backgrounds. Visa restrictions will not apply on the boat as it is located out of the jurisdiction of the US, although once small businesses achieve sufficient scale to need more space, the owners will also help them to gain work permits in the US. Transport to the mainland will be provided through a twice-daily large-capacity ferry – US citizens will be able to travel to the boat at anytime, while non-citizens can obtain a 180-day business/tourist visa to visit California. Although the design of the vessel is not yet finalized, proposed mock-ups depict the boat as the size of a large office complex. Startups interested in applying for a place on Blueseed can fill in a survey on the company’s website now. Accommodation (including living and working space) will be priced at USD 1,200 per month for a shared cabin to USD 3,000 for a top-tier single cabin.

Blueseed aims to bring together talented entrepreneurs from around the world into one community, which will have close links to Silicon Valley. We’ve seen quite a few organisations seeking to help tech startups now, but could something similar be applied to your industry?

Website: www.blueseed.co
Contact: info@blueseed.co

Spotted by: Kelly Nielsen

Nichola Bates to Mentor at Ignite100

We are more than pleased to announce that our very own Nichola Bates has been asked to mentor on the Ignite100 accelerator programme this coming September.

Details of the upcoming accelerator are yet to be finalised but what we can tell you, is that there are already plans to take the start-ups on a road trip to America (we want to apply), the mentor list is world class, and if you reach your milestones throughout the programme you can walk away with prize fund of up to £100,000. Wow, right?

So how can you apply? Well applications are open from today and can be found here – standard questions, nothing you haven’t seen before. So what are you waiting for, get a move on!

DWS - European Tech Crawl 2012

 

This summer the Web Summit is going on tour! Beginning on June 18th in London we will travel around Europe hosting a series of informal, complimentary, networking events for the startup and tech communities across 14 cities. The Web Summit European Tech Crawl will provide a unique opportunities for young startups, developers, entrepreneurs, investors and the media to get together and share ideas and expertises. The goal is to ditch the office in favor of a pint in the sun with a diverse selection of peers.

Every evening we’ll be co-hosting drinks in a different city. That venue we hope will be a pub, we’re Irish after all, and it’s important to play to national stereotypes when abroad. In every city, we’ll be inviting about 100 interesting tech folk to join us for a drink each night. We’re also hoping to visit the offices of great startups, incubators, and co-working spaces, using your WiFi as we please. No seriously, have you seen how much roaming costs?

 

If you are interested in attending the event and have yet to receive an invite you can apply for one here.

The Web Summit European Tech Crawl will be held in association with our media partners TechCrunch and The Next Web, and our respective city co-hosts - a group of incredible tech influentials.

Below are the 14 cities we’re thinking of so far. If you’d like to help, co-host, sponsor, or have any ideas please drop me an email, paddy@websummit.net.

                 

Belfast Film Festival

WHOLE LOTTA SOLE AT BELFAST FILM FESTIVAL

Following his Oscar® win for The Shore, Terry George returns to Belfast with his latest filmWhole Lotta Sole which will be the closing night premiere at the Belfast Film Festival onSunday 10th June in the Waterfront Hall.

In a rowdy little corner of Belfast, hapless young father Jimbo tries to protect his family from the gangster he’s in debt to by robbing the local fish market… which turns out to be a front for the same gangster! On the run, Jimbo holes up in a local antique shop run by a long-lost man from his past. A colorful cast of character actors and a strong turn from Brendan Fraser light up this madcap Irish crime comedy.

The director Terry George, Brendan Fraser & other lead cast members will attend this premiere. Get your tickets now!

Want to go to Google I/O?   Yeah, we thought so. If you’re a Startup Weekend alum and your startup is built on Google technologies* then we want to hear from you! Google, our Galactic Sponsor, has released four free passes to Google I/O to the Startup Weekend community. (For those who don't know, Google I/O is their massive annual developer conference. This year tickets were $900 and the entire conference sold out within 20 minutes. With amazing speakers, panels, code labs and hackathons this is one event you definitely want to be a part of!) So how do you get one of these coveted tickets? First, create a 60 second videothat tells us a bit about your team (roughly 20 seconds), about your startup (roughly 20 seconds), and why you should go to Google I/O (roughly 20 seconds). Then upload it to YouTube (you can leave it as “unlisted” instead of “public” if you don’t want the world to see it).  Don’t forget to share the link with us in the application! Second, fill out this application.  We’ll be asking you a few questions about your startup and also a few questions about you.  Not to worry, they’re pretty standard and will only be seen by the Startup Weekend Core Team.  The application requires the video link, so make sure that’s ready to go before you fill out the form. We’ll contact the lucky few the first week of June. Best of luck to all our teams! *“Built on Google technologies” means that they are an integral part of your product or service, not that you use Gmail for email.

The 6-Year-Old Entrepreneur That Rocked Startup Weekend

 

Ashwin: The 6-Year-Old Entrepreneur/CEO That Rocked Startup Weekend Seattle Meet the little guy that is showing everyone what Startup Weekend is all about.

“Hi my name is Ashwin and I’m 6. And I am an entrepreneur. My idea is Wash Off Stickers. One day Mommy went to an event and put a name tag on. But when she came home she forgot to take it off and then threw it in the wash - but the sticker never came off and ruined her favorite shirt! My idea is Wash Off Stickers! With just a little water our stickers will disappear! And the stickers could go on walls, toys, even fruit!” Whoa. Not only did this little six-year-old identify a business problem, find a market, and propose a solution, he did it better than half of the grown adults in the room. I felt terrible for whoever had to follow that kid. After the pitches, voting begins. At the beginning of the evening, we’re given three Post-its, which we use to vote for what we think are the best ideas. I walked around and chatted with a few people, and I noticed that Wash Off Stickers was sadly empty. This was an injustice that could not stand. “Oh, COME ON people,” I pleaded. “How is nobody voting for Wash Off Stickers?! That was an awesome idea!” I proudly placed my Post-It under his sign, and walked over to him. “Hi, my name is Dwight, and I just wanted to let you know I voted for your idea!” Here is where the story gets REALLY good, keep reading this piece, "My Boss, The Six-Year-Old", from Dwight Battle's blog. Geekwire also covered the story and has a great video interview with Ashwin. KOMO 4 News also did a piece on Aswin which you can view here. Read the rest!

Four Years, over 900 posts, 15,500 Twitter followers, Happy Birthday to US

Well it is our 4th Birthday. We have posted over 900 times, and have had over quarter of a million page views ( mostly in the last 15 months). To be honest I can't believe it, and also just how much the tech landscape has changed and moved forward in Ireland. We have seen so much progress for startups in Ireland.

As Pete wrote yesterday the Startup Awards yesterday were a great success, with more varied companies than ever before. Ireland truly is now a nation of entrepreneurs.

We re-affirm our commitment  to the Irish Startup Community. Thank you.

The Silicon Ireland Team

Charlie, Nas, Pete and  Patrick.

Larry Page's speech at London Zeitgiest.

Larry Page's speech at London Zeitgiest. Wearing his Augmented Reality eyewear.


A very interesting watch!

Startup Awards 2012 Shortlist

I have posted the full list of shortlisted Startups in Ireland for the Startup Awards 2012. Even though these are not all technology, I felt that the full list gave a great view of the enterprise spirit across Ireland. I was also pleased to see some tech companies previously featured in this blog.

Good luck and well done to all those who have been shortlisted.




The Startup Awards 2012 Shortlist

Cat 1 - Digital/Online Startup of the Year

An Lár TV
Bullet
Clubs to Hire
GalleryIreland.ie
Rainbusters
Rentview
TeamTraders.com
Virginia Medical Devices

Cat 2 - Product Startup of the Year

Easy Payments Plus
getHealth
GPBuddy.ie
Irish Bobbles
Kooky Dough
Motionfox
The Grape Escape
The Handmade Soap Company


Cat 3 - Home or Craft-based Startup of the Year


Christening Elegance
GalleryIreland.ie
Hummingbird Learning Centre
Mourning Cross
OLD RECTORY
Project 51
The Handmade Soap Company

Cat 4 - Women in Business


Aruna Sauces
BakeMyCake
Cherry Blossom Bakery Ltd.
Easy Payments Plus
Kooky Dough
Pure Products Ltd.
Rainbusters
Ready Girls


Cat 5 - Green Startup of the Year 

BIGbin Company
Carbon Control
Crowley Carbon Ltd.
Dingle Hampers
Ecogrinds
ElectricEscapes
Sean Bróga Ltd.
The Spokesman

Cat 6 - Food & Drink Entrepreneurial Startup of the Year

Aruna Sauces
BakeMyCake
Cherry Blossom Bakery Ltd.
Chia Bia
JD's Gourmet Popcorn Ltd.
Keogh's Crisps
Kooky Dough
Pure Products Ltd.


Cat 7 - Angel or VC-backed Startup of the Year


Enverian
Panorama Engineering Ltd.
TeamTraders.com
Cat 8 - Social Enterprise Startup of the Year
A Lár TV
getHealth
Hummingbird Learning Centre
MyMind
MyStreet.ie
TeamTraders.com
Virginia Medical Devices

Cat 9 - Service Startup of the Year


BIGbin Company
Bullet
Clubs to Hire
Coyle & Associates
Event Junkies
Healthcomms
Hummingbird Learning Centre
The Zip Yard


Cat 10 - Retail Startup of the Year

BakeMyCake
Canopi Creative Ltd.
Giftrescue Ltd.
Project 51
Rainbusters
Siopaella Ltd.
The Grape Escape
The Zip Yard

Cat 11 - Franchisee Startup of the Year


Four Star Pizza (New Ross)
Pass My Test Driving School
The Zip Yard

Cat 12 - Startup Business Plan of the Year


Bábógbaby
Christening Elegance
Easy Payments Plus
Kooky Dough
Social Gaming Ventures Ltd.
VideoCrisp Ltd.


Cat 13 - An comhlacht nua is fearr le hearra nó seirbhís i n Gaeilge
Bábógbaby
Dingle Hampers
Foinse
Freedom Scoil Surfála
Smartmail Ltd.

Cat 14 - Export Startup of the Year


Chia Bia
Gadget Saver Ltd.
Kooky Dough
Motionfox
MyPlace Media
The Handmade Soap Company
VideoCrisp Ltd.
Virginia Medical Devices

Microsoft Names Belfast’s JamPot Technologies as One of Europe’s Top Fifteen Start-Ups

Microsoft Names Belfast’s JamPot Technologies as One of Europe’s Top Fifteen Start-Ups

Ø  JamPot pitch to judges to be named Europe’s top start-up company in London on 7^thJune.

Ø  Additional ‘People’s Choice’ award launched for public voting.

Ø  JamPot’s product, TheAppBuilder, used to create more than 25,000 mobile apps in 3 months since launch.

Belfast, N. Ireland, 24 May 2012. Global software giant Microsoft has announced that JamPot Technologies, the company behind www.TheAppBuilder.com, has been selected as one of Europe’s top 15 start-ups. JamPot has been invited to the Microsoft BizSpark European Summit in London on June 7^th to pitch to a panel of judges for the ultimate accolade of being named Europe’s top start-up.

In addition, Microsoft has also launched a People’s Choice Award which is an extra prize for which members of the public can vote.  James Scott, CEO of JamPot Technologies, comments “This gives us another opportunity to come away a top prize. We’d love it if the Irish public could get behind us by voting and help to show the world what great entrepreneurial tech is coming out of our local industry.”

To vote for JamPot visit the Microsoft voting site http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/NewsAndEvents/MicrosoftEuropeanBizSparkSummit/TheAppbuilder.aspx  before 7^th June and register your vote with one click of the ‘Like’ button.

To be selected by Microsoft as one of the top fifteen start-ups in Europe is a major achievement for a company which only launched its flagship product,www.TheAppBuilder.com, three months ago. TheAppBuilder enables any business or organisation to create their own high quality, low cost mobile phone app that can be used by their customers on any device – including iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone.

Scott comments “The announcement by Microsoft has capped off a wonderful three months. Since launching at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, more than 25,000 apps have been created using TheAppBuilder. With over 70% of our customers from North America and the rest truly from all four corners of the globe, TheAppBuilder is taking the self-service app market by storm.

“Many organizations can be overwhelmed by the cost, time and technical knowledge traditionally required to create and set an app live, but TheAppBuilder is ripping-up these rules and establishing a new affordable and accessible standard in mobile communication. We are so committed to this vision that we even provide users with a Free Trial, so that they can preview their app on their phone at absolutely no cost.”

TheAppBuilder has been used to create more than 25,000 apps in the three months since its launch at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, JamPot was established in January 2011 and creates category-defining, customer focused, game-changing technology. The team has a wealth of experience, from research backgrounds to successful start-ups and have been responsible for a number of breakthroughs in mobile technology. As its first major project, the company has created and developed a product that allows people to build their own apps; the result is TheAppBuilder, JamPot’s flagship product.

Ignite100 accepting applications

Startups should look at the Ignite100 program for startups. Here is what they say, and they are accepting applications.

'ignite100 is in the real world, but it’s a place where dreams can be realised, a place where we can turn amazing ideas into scalable businesses and products that can change the world.

The real world is for everyone else. ignite100 is for those who dare to do better. It’s not easy, but then anything worth accomplishing rarely is.

Over the coming days we’ll share our plans for ignite100, and we’ll show you what a difference 13 weeks in our company can make.

Until then, talk to us. Ask questions. We’re on Twitter, we’re at the end of an email. We’ll be coming to a city near you soon to meet up and see the whites of your eyes. If you’re confident, apply today.'

It’s time. Dare to do better.

Digital Circle calender of EVENTS - May to Aug 2012

Digital Circle Calender of EVENTS

BLOC54 Games Network - May Meetup

• Tue, 22 May from 18:00 to 21:00 at Farset Labs TBC, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/bloc54-games-network-may-meetup

Belfast Ruby - Testing Ruby

• Tue, 22 May from 18:30 to 21:30 at Rumble Labs, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/belfast-ruby-testing-ruby

Open Data Playground

• Thu, 24 May from 17:00 to 21:00 at Farset Labs, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/open-data-playground

Security Engineering for Consumers (with Nokia)

• Fri, 25 May from 09:30 to 10:30 at ECIT, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/security-engineering-for-consumers-with-nokia

2D - Northern Ireland Comics Festival

• Thu, 31 May 18:00 to Sat, 02 June 18:00 at Verbal Arts Centre, Derry
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/2d-northern-ireland-comics-festival

Crafty Coffee - Networking / Meet Up

• Fri, 01 June 08:30 to Tue, 12 June 10:30 at Crafty Devil, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/crafty-coffee-networking-meet-up--2

TEDxBelfast 2012

• Wed, 06 June from 16:00 to 21:00 at Titanic Signature Building, Belfast
• http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/4978

NISP Frameworks: Government Grants for Start-ups

• Thu, 07 June from 08:00 to 10:00 at NISP, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/nisp-frameworks-government-grants-for-start-ups

BBC Creative Collisions - Future of Media Technology #CC2012NI

• Fri, 08 June from 10:00 to 14:00 at BBC Blackstaff Studios, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/bbc-creative-collisions-future-of-media-technology-cc2012ni

NISPO - INVESTMENT READINESS PROGRAMME

• Mon, 11 June 09:00 to Mon, 25 June 17:00 at Midtown Center, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/nispo-investment-readiness-programme--2

UKTI - MULTI-PLATFORM APP DEVELOPER MISSION

• Mon, 18 June 09:00 to Fri, 22 June 17:00 at Soma, San francisco
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/ukti-multi-platform-app-developer-mission

Q-Con XIX

• Fri, 22 June 16:00 to Sun, 24 June 18:00 at QUBSU, Belfast
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/q-con-xix

CultureTech Games Arcade

• Wed, 29 August 09:00 to Sat, 01 September 18:00 at Foyleside Shopping Centre, Derry
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/culturetech-games-arcade

Culture Tech Festival

• Wed, 29 August 12:00 to Sat, 01 September 23:00 at Millennium Forum, Derry
• http://digitalcircle.org/events/culture-tech-festival

First Tuesday - Create a Killer App event London

How To Create The Killer App  Tuesday, June 12, 2012 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (GMT)   eOffice Soho 20 Broadwick St W1F 8HT London United Kingdom View Map

Starting a Business? Start on Twitter Too!

by Sian Phillips | May 22, 2012 

Starting a business can be harrowing enough although I hope it can be an exciting time for you too. One of the steps you will be considering is how to market your new company and maybe as a start-up you don’t have the funds to do very much. This is where Social Media is great as it is free, only costing your time, and can reach far and wide. In this post I’m going to explain how to get a relevant following withTwitter and how it can work for your business if done well.

According to recent Twitter statistics there are over 465 million Twitter accounts and just over 100 million of those are based in the USA. Interesting content, personal connection and humour are cited as the main reasons for people to retweet tweets and share with their followers. This is very important to consider as this is what will grow your Twitter network online quicker than anything else. Think of it like a spiders web growing out all the time and each valid follower will therefore soon know about your business too.

So how do you achieve this?

Firstly never do a hard sell online. Don’t just tweet about how fantastic your business or product is all the time. I know you probably want to shout about it from the rooftops but imagine how off-putting that can be; so be subtle. An odd sales tweet a couple of times a day is acceptable mixed in with useful and engaging tweets to attract conversation.

Never beg for followers – that is just sad. If someone wants to follow you, you have to make yourself interesting to others and begging is not pretty. Write a good bio for your Twitter account and provide a link to your business. Depending on the size of your business you may want to keep it personal or as a brand. If personal use a nice picture of yourself; if a brand and a few people tweeting then use your logo but ensure everyone tweets from the same song sheet, so to speak.

Always be personable and approachable on Twitter. Never ignore someone who has tweeted you – that’s the same as ignoring someone who has just come up to you in a networking meeting and spoken to you. Be yourself and let the fun side shine through – people always gravitate to nice people with a sense of humour.

These days it is advisable to have a blog for your business (that is another post in the pipeline so please do check back). As Twitter is limited to 140 characters linking to a blog post is great to get your message across. Interesting and useful posts get retweeted so bear that in mind when writing. You could run a special offer or a competition and have that in your blog which is then simple to tweet. People will retweet special offers and competitions if they are worthwhile.

Retweet interesting content if you see something tweeted. Share it with your followers and your generosity may be reciprocated in the future.

If your business is a specialist in its field then offer free tips or even run an advice clinic every week using a hashtag that people will follow to find out what it is all about. Hashtags can be grouped together for discussions and clinics in this way.  Give people the option to DM (Direct Message) you their questions but remember unless you are following each other you can’t DM back and forth so suggest they tweet you first to get the follow. Become the “go to guy” (or girl) who will happily answer questions. This could grow and lead to business and recommendations.

Find chats to get involved in on Twitter using hashtag searches and you will be networking with lots of new people immediately. A great example of a business chat on Twitter using a hashtag is #Kaizenbiz which runs at 12pm ET every Friday hosted by @3keyscoach. It is a different business topic each week and for an hour or so everyone gets to chat and converse with others about that topic just using #kaizenbiz in each tweet so those involved can see. On all Twitter apps you can group the hashtag tweets to see easily. It is brilliant for networking with like-minded people.

Read more on Starting a Business? Start on Twitter Too!

Culture Tech 2012

FOUR SPEAKERS, TWO MUSIC EVENTS, ONE GAMES ARCADE AND A DRUM MACHINE

Seven weekdays since we launched Culture Tech and seven new sessions added:
Speaker: Rohan Gunatillake is the guy behind Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab, Culture Hack Scotland, the Speirs Locks regeneration and Mission Models Money. He’s also been named in Wired Magazine’s “50 people who are about to change the world”.

Games Arcade: We’ll be taking over Foyleside Shopping Centre with a free games arcade packed full of locally developed games

Speakers: CEO of the Edinburgh Fringe, Kath Mainland and Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Andrew Coulton are planning a double-header on how tech is changing the world’s biggest festival

(more…)

On Cloud Nine with The Doyle Collection

On Cloud Nine with The Doyle Collection

The Westbury Hotel is the first hotel in Ireland to embrace cloud computing services

The Westbury Hotel in Dublin has become the first hotel in Ireland to move all of its computing services to the cloud. Using CITRIX technology in conjunction with PFH Computers and Cable & Wireless, the Hotel has developed a private cloud solution.

This advancement marks the beginning of a two year digital plan to move all of The Doyle Collection properties in Ireland, the UK and the USA to cloud services. The Marylebone Hotel in London will be the next within The Doyle Collection to be upgraded to the new system.

The Doyle Collection understands that implementing cloud computing offers a more flexible, efficient and secure platform to deliver better services to guests and business partners.  It will also enable the global team to carry out business from anywhere in the world with full office functionality, accessibility and speed.

Commenting on the development, Chief Executive Officer Pat King said;

“The improvement of IT services and transfer of our servers and PCs to the cloud builds on recent investments into our new property management and finance systems. This includes the recent replacement of SAP with Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The Doyle Collection continues to invest in its business and works vigorously to streamline processes in order to provide the most effective structure from which we can deliver the highest standard of service to our guests.”

DIY synthetic biology, rehabilitation robotics and touching data at 3Dcamp

DIY synthetic biology, rehabilitation robotics and touching data at 3Dcamp

LIMERICK - MAY 21, 2012: 3Dcamp returns to the University of Limerick for its fifth year in a row on Saturday, May 26th. The one day event is an informal conference exploring how the Internet touches the physical world.

“The keynote address will be delivered by Bob Tait, Vice President of Marketing at Movidius, an Irish semiconductor company which recently signed a partnership with Toshiba to offer a 3D system to smartphone manufacturers”, says organizer Gabriela Avram. “At the confluence of mobile and 3D, this is obviously a very exciting area.”

3Dcamp will be hosted in the Computer Science and Information Systems building of the University of Limerick campus. Including a mix of talks and workshops, the event is one of the longer lasting ‘barcamps’ in Ireland styled after the informal format so popular in Silicon Valley.

“For our 5th anniversary we wanted to push the boat out a little”, says co-organizer James Corbett. “With talks on DIY biology, Rehabilitation Robotics and Touching Data, I think we’ve certainly achieved that”. Workshops on geocaching, Arduino and the role of the body in interacting with computers will encourage event attendees to actively participate in the sessions.

The organisation of the 3Dcamp is supported by miLKlabs (the Limerick maker-space) and by the local chapter of IxDA (the Interaction Design Association). The venue is offered by the Computer Science and Information Systems Department at the University of Limerick.

The 3Dcamp is free to attend, but requires registration. For more information see http://3Dcamp.barcamp.ie

Update from Paddy Cosgrove at DWS

This is an update from Paddy Cosgrove. You may have got this email from him, but in case you didn't this is what it said:-

'We're doing our first major event in the US in June, TechCrunch covered it last week, and we're launching a new startup in the months ahead - limited details here.

We're getting ready to launch this years Dublin Web Summit over the coming weeks. The dates are October 17 & 18, in the RDS in Dublin. We'll have over 200 international speakers and you can register for a 2 for 1 voucher here until this Friday. There's no cost to reserving a voucher.

We're also hiring for a number of senior roles with immediate starts in the areas of event management, finance and sponsorship, as well as engineering roles including iOS, JS & Rails developers. You'll find further details on all the positions on our website.'