Meet the Team… Tim Yeomans

In our ‘Meet the Team’ series, we bring you a range of interviews from across the Technology Gateway Network.

Next up is Tim Yeomans – Shannon ABC Technology Gateway Manager, one of 17 Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateways.

Tell us a bit about Shannon ABC

Shannon ABC was established in 2008. We are a collaboration between TUS and MTU, and we work with companies in the biotech, food, and life science sectors. We have scientists and business development staff based in both locations, all with their own areas of expertise. We believe we provide a great opportunity for companies to access capabilities across two colleges through one access point.

Describe your role

My role, together with the Shannon ABC Technology Gateway team, is to devise and deliver projects that will ultimately benefit a company’s bottom line. I am responsible for business development activities, scientific and strategic development of Shannon ABC, and financial reporting.

What’s unique about this Gateway?

Shannon ABC is the only co-located Gateway in the Technology Gateway network and we have delivered a range of projects across both locations that would have been very difficult to deliver individually due to the expertise required. We work in the area of bioresources, and helping companies to get more value from bioresources. This means we work with a wide range of sectors – nutraceutical, cosmetics, food, pharma, healthcare, textile, biopharma, environmental, biotechnology, etc. The benefit to our clients is the opportunities we can uncover; for example, when we are looking for added-value from food waste, we are not just looking for an application in food but also in cosmetics, healthcare, biotechnology, etc. This opens up more opportunities for Irish industry.

What type of companies do you work with?

We work with companies based in the biotech, food and life science sectors – that’s anything from cosmetics to healthcare, from food to pharmaceutical. We work with companies ranging in size from micro-enterprises and sole traders to multi-national corporations. The smallest project we did recently was €85, the largest was €4.2 million!

What are the main benefits for a company collaborating with Shannon ABC?

We are a commercially focussed centre, so our focus is on what will make an impact for the company. The more that we understand the company and their business model, the better we can help. We have a wide network in the sectors that we work in and so we often find that we are introducing companies to each other in order to help them address commercialisation or route to market challenges.

How can you help a company prepare for an innovation project?

We sit down with the company and work out why they are doing the project. We would always approach this from the perspective of how this project will ultimately help the company sell their product or service. Once we’ve determined what the project is, we help to identify the most appropriate funding mechanism and provide as much help as we can in terms of the application process.

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to a company considering an innovation project?

Make sure that what you are doing will benefit your company, that you’re not doing the project just because it is interesting (and work with Shannon ABC!).

What do you love most about your job?

I really enjoy my job – identifying the companies to work with, developing the project to help them, and then seeing the impact of this project. A key part is making connections for Irish companies; I get to work with a really wide range of companies, at all stages of development and it’s great to be in a position where you can pass along useful information to these companies in terms of their development. Whether this is in the delivery of a successful project or just in putting them in connection with other companies who they may be able to work with.