North West Regional College (NWRC) Business Support Innovation Centres

Background

Over the past decade, North West Regional College (NWRC) set out to build and expand dedicated innovation and skills centres to bridge the gap between academia and regional industry needs.

The Challenge

Developing modern innovation centres requires significant initial planning, market engagement, staff upskilling, and direct outreach to align college capabilities with real-world industry demands.

The Role of Connected NI Funding

NWRC leveraged Connected funding across several key phases:

• Concept & Proposal Development: Formulated initial plans and funding proposals that brought the innovation centres from concept to fruition.

• Industry Engagement & Needs Analysis: Funded staff time to consult directly with local businesses to understand their specific operational challenges and technology requirements.

• Knowledge Exchange & Upskilling: Supported staff upskilling and best-practice visits (leveraging KAFA funding) to build institutional expertise in emerging fields.

• Showcasing Capabilities: Allowed the college to demonstrate its specialized facilities and technical capabilities directly to regional businesses.

• Competitive Project Delivery: Utilized Connected competitive funding to collaborate with targeted companies and groups, delivering tailored solutions for their specific organizational needs.

Innovation Centres Developed

Through this support, NWRC established a comprehensive suite of specialised innovation centres:

1. Foodovation: Dedicated food innovation centre.

2. DIAL (Design Innovation for Assisted Living): Focused on assisted living technologies and solutions.

3. Product Design Centre: Located at the Limavady campus.

4. Industry 4.0 Centre: Focused on automation and robotics at the Springtown campus.

5. XR Hub: Extended reality facility located at the Strand Road campus.

Key Outcomes & Impact

• Significant Team Expansion: The NWRC Business Support Centre team grew to 26 staff members who engage with local businesses on a day-to-day basis.

• Sustained Industry Engagement: Created an ongoing, subsidized pipeline for academic staff to interact with local enterprises, understand their needs, and turn business ideas into reality.

• Regional Innovation Ecosystem: Established accessible, cutting-edge facilities where local businesses can adopt automation, robotics, product design, and immersive tech without prohibitive R&D costs.