A LIMERICK man has been appointed the new Director of Innovation at University College Dublin (UCD).
Liam Cronin, originally from Anglesboro, County Limerick, is set to take on the new key leadership role with responsibility for managing the strategic direction of the university’s activities, delivered through NovaUCD, described as Ireland’s leading innovation hub, in the areas of innovation, knowledge transfer and commercialisation, enterprise development, and consultancy.
Mr Cronin was formerly CEO of the RDI Hub in Killorglin, County Kerry, which opened in 2020.
Under Liam’s leadership over the last the five years, the RDI Hub has supported 100 start-ups and scaling companies, which have secured over €250million, created over 430 jobs, and launched 70 new products and services.
Professor Kate Robson Brown, UCD vice-president for research, innovation, and impact said: “University College Dublin plays a key leadership role in research and innovation and is at the heart of Ireland’s innovation and knowledge exchange ecosystem, and I am therefore delighted to welcome Liam to UCD to take up this new position of director of innovation at the university.”
Speaking about his new appointment, Liam Cronin said that “UCD has developed a strong track record of success in innovation and entrepreneurship, especially over the last 20 years since the establishment of NovaUCD, and it is a great honour for me to have been appointed to the new role of director of innovation at the university.”
Liam has more than 30 years of experience working within both the public and private sector. Prior to joining the RDI Hub, Liam was the commercial director at ADAPT, the Research Ireland Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology at Trinity College Dublin, where he was responsible for the centre’s enterprise engagement and commercialisation activities and provided both strategic and operational leadership.
In addition, he has previously held senior executive roles with Microsoft in Ireland and Western Europe.
