Prestigious All island Innovation Awards launched
Overall winner receives prize package in excess of €150,000
-Fifth year of The Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards-
The search for the most illustrious all island innovations begins today, with the launch of The Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards. The awards showcase excellence in innovation, across a range of groundbreaking products and services. In recent years the overall winners have created innovations as diverse as drug delivery systems and state of the art network switching, 
to anti-allergy pillows and new technologies for cleaning and disinfection. The closing date for applications is December 2nd 2013 with entries encouraged from all sectors and company sizes across the island, North and South.
Michael McAleer, editor, Innovation, The Irish Times said, “The Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards aim to recognise and promote the best innovations within organisations of all sectors and all sizes from across the island of Ireland. The awards have previously identified a number of innovative businesses, many of whom have gone on to become industry and global leaders in their particular sectors.”
Each category winner will receive a €10,000 communications package in The Irish Times Business+Innovation supplement and an iPad with an annual subscription to The Irish Times ePaper. The winners will then be in the running to win the overall Innovation of the Year title and receive a communications package, worth in excess of €150,000, comprising of advertising promotion across The Irish Times Business+Innovation supplement. UCD Smurfit School will provide the overall winner with a scholarship for an Executive Education programme commencing in 2015 and they will receive a state of the art laptop with a one year subscription to The Irish Times ePaper. There is also a special recognition award given to the company with the best North/South collaboration project.
Aidan Gough, Strategy and Policy Director, InterTradeIreland, said, “InterTradeIreland’s aim is to have Ireland and Northern Ireland recognised internationally as a centre of innovation excellence. These awards are designed to do just that by recognising the best innovations in organisations across the island. We would encourage companies regardless of size or location from the cutting edge pharmaceutical sector to manufacturing, engineering and the service sector to consider entering these awards this year to showcase their innovations.’’
For more information, log on to www.irishtimes.com/