All-Island Innovation Programme Panel Discussion
13.30 - 15.10 Presentations from the panel mambers
15.30 - 16.30 Panel discussion
You can view the full schedule for the website.
This panel discussion will explore how members of the local business community have successfully used innovation in their business life. Each panel member will give a fifteen minute presentation, and then they will all engage in an hour-long panel discussion, chaired by BBC journalist William Crawley, which will probe these themes further.
The Panel
Richard Bell, Solmatix
Richard is a former engineer within the Aerospace, Defence and Marine industries, and he established Solmatix in 2008. Solmatix is Northern Ireland’s leading renewables company which specialises in the installation of Solar PV and Solar Water Heating within the domestic, commercial, agriculture and volume housing sectors. Operating throughout the UK and Ireland, Solmatix have carried out over 600 solar panel installations ranging from private homeowners to high street retailers. Solmatix has a design pedigree that stretches back 30 years with numerous local and national design awards including one of the first eight UK Millennium Product Awards.
Andrew Bolster, Farset Labs
Andrew is the Founding Director of Farset Labs, Northern Ireland’s First Hackerspace, located in Weavers Court Business Park, Belfast. Andrew developed Farset Labs while finishing off his Masters in Electronics and Software Engineering at QUB. Farset Labs now provides the technical and entrepreneurial community with a place to share resources, knowledge and experience in a relaxed atmosphere, laying the foundation for the next wave of Northern Irish industry-leading technologists and business leaders.
He’s a recipient of the 2012 Belfast Business Top 50 for his work at Farset Labs, the T G Christie Award for Most Promising Postgraduate and The Liggard Prize for Best Communications Engineering Masters Project at Queen's University. He is a IET Excellence Grant recipient and a National Finalist in the IET Present Around the World competition where he spoke on information theory of social networks in 2010
Bryan Keating, Matrix
Bryan Keating has been a director of and an investor in a number of NI based hi-tech businesses over the last 30+ years, including Omiino, CEM computers and Systems, Andor plc , Amphion, Axis Three, PACE, Amacis and Mail Distiller. Currently, Bryan is on the Board of James Leckey Design Ltd, a leader in the design and manufacture of innovative and engaging posturally supportive products.
In the public arena Bryan chairs Matrix - the NI Science and Industry Panel. He has also served on the Boards of InvestNI, QUBIS, the University Challenge Fund, Investment Belfast, halo (the NI Business Angel Network), Momentum and NICENT - the NI Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Keating is a visiting professor at the University of Ulster and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Priscilla Woods, Schrader Electronics
Priscilla took up the role of HSE Manager at Schrader Electronics in February 2003 were she has seen her role develop from a one plant operation with 200 employees in 2003 to a multi-site global operation with over 1000 employees in 2013. She has successfully helped Schrader Electronics dramatically reduce its incident and severity rates and become a HSE award winning company.
She previously held the role of HSE & ISO Manager at Pritchitts, Newtownards and held a number of other HSE posts since her graduation in 1997. Priscilla holds an MBA and a BSc Hons Degree in Environmental Health as well as the NEBOSH 2 part Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety. Priscilla is a Chartered Member of IOSH and is currently the Chair of the Northern Ireland Safety Group.
Schrader Electronics design and manufacture innovative electronic sensors for the Automotive and Industrial Sectors. They have high tech R&D Centres & state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in worldwide locations.
