TU Dublin ARISE Showcase puts research, impact and enterprise collaboration in the spotlight
More than three hundred people attended the TU Dublin ARISE Showcase 2026 this week, bringing researchers, businesses, and the wider innovation community together to explore how research and enterprise collaboration can deliver real-world impact.
Held at TU Dublin’s Grangegorman campus in the Central Quad, the Showcase featured over twenty research and innovation stands, interactive demonstrations, expert speakers and a panel discussion focused on building stronger connections between researchers and enterprise.
Visitors experienced research and technology from across TU Dublin, with demonstrations spanning artificial intelligence, robotics, sustainable technologies, food innovation, photonics, advanced materials, green chemistry, environmental sensing and human-centred technology.
Highlights included the Boston Dynamics Spot robotic platform, industrial inspection technologies, interactive AI and biomedical engineering prototypes, advanced sensing equipment, laboratory demonstrations, and projects including LiteStream and PharmGPT. Researchers also displayed interactive technologies including the AI Radio and Smart Dumbbell, alongside research into sustainable packaging, plastic degradation, food development and environmental monitoring.
The Showcase highlighted the work of TU Dublin ARISE (Amplifying Research & Innovation Supporting Enterprise), which is helping SMEs and researchers build relationships and develop collaborative projects. ARISE has supported more than €1 million in project funding to date, with a further €2 million in submissions currently awaiting decisions.
Opening the event and discussing the impact of TU Dublin Research and Innovation, Dr Dympna O’Sullivan, Director of Research, Innovation and External Engagement at TU Dublin, said:
The real impact of research comes when we connect the expertise and creativity of our researchers with the real challenges facing businesses and society. ARISE bring that ambition to life; ARISE is about creating those connections, particularly for SMEs, and helping ideas, expertise and technology move beyond the university and into the real world. Today’s Showcase is a powerful example of what is possible when our exceptional researchers and enterprise work together - taking the expertise and capability within TU Dublin beyond our campuses and putting it to work in the real world.
Dr Deirdre Quinn, System Development and Performance Management, TU RISE at the Higher Education Authority, provided an overview of the wider TU RISE landscape and the role of higher education institutions in building stronger connections between research, innovation and enterprise.
A panel discussion chaired by Claire Mac Namee, Head of Enterprise Engagement at TU Dublin, brought together enterprise, industry and TU Dublin research and innovation perspectives, with Michael Treacy of Enterprise Ireland, Colin Deering of Anyscor, and TU Dublin’s Dr Paul Maguire, Dr Susan McKeever and Professor Jesus Frias. The discussion explored what makes collaboration successful, including building relationships, managing different expectations and creating opportunities for researchers and businesses to develop projects together.
Julian Seymour, Chief Operating Officer at Furthr, highlighted Furthr’s role as delivery partner for the ARISE Enterprise Engagement Programme, helping researchers build the confidence, connections and practical skills to engage with enterprise and turn opportunities for collaboration into action.
Addressing the ‘expectation gap’ between research and enterprise partners is a key focus for ARISE, with the programme developing activities and supports to help make collaborative projects more effective and impactful. ARISE is continuing to develop sector-focused engagement activities and strengthen connections between enterprise and TU Dublin’s Research Hubs and Centres.
Tá ARISE arna chomhchistiú ag Rialtas na hÉireann agus ag an Aontas Eorpach trí Chlár Réigiúnach an Deiscirt, an Oirthir agus Lár na Tíre 2021-27 de chuid.
TU Dublin ARISE is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021-27.