Empowering Collaboration in Digital Health

Our Latest Program

About Us

dConnect (DkIT Connect DAC) is a wholly owned entity of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) based at DkIT’s Regional Development Centre (RDC).

Our Mission is to stimulate and foster innovation in Digital Health by collaborating with, and connecting, businesses, healthcare providers, universities, patient groups and society to support the development of digital solutions to address our growing healthcare needs.

We support early-stage companies by providing access to education, expertise and our extensive network, we provide larger businesses and investors with exposure to leading-edge innovation and training, and support research organisations to successfully commercialize their research.

We run numerous start-up and industry training programmes on digital health innovation, host regular workshops and events, provide direct mentoring and consultancy and develop software prototypes and solutions for clients.

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What we do

Business Supports

We provide advice and consultancy in the following areas:

Regulatory Pathways
Data Privacy
Investor Readiness
Cybersecurity
Route-to-Market
Market Research

We also provide technical support in the following areas:

Proof of concept development
Wire-framing & User interface (UI) development
User testing
Backend application development
Technical Training

Knowledge Hub

Our knowledge hub includes videos of dConnect hosted Webinars and Events delivered by experts in digital health related topics as well as relevant White Papers.

Programmes

We provide training, education and structured supports for start-ups, established companies, researchers and students through the following programmes:

eH ealth Em bar k digital health start-up programme
Digital Health Industry Innovation Training Programme
EIT Health i-Days student programme
Regular webinars & events

Connected Cluster

dConnect encompasses a cluster of organisations across research, enterprise, healthcare providers, private and public sectors, funders and society. We connect corporates with research, innovation & early-stage ventures. We link start-ups and SMEs with clinicians and clinical sites. We connect ideas with business strategy and enterprises to funding. For more information on our cluster see our Connected Health and Wellbeing Cluster

Some of our work

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Endorsements

“dConnect has been supported by Enterprise Ireland through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund which provides funding for innovation and collaborative projects with the aim of sustainable job creation in the regions. I congratulate Dundalk Institute of Technology and all the stakeholders in this project on building on research strengths within the Institute and enterprise capabilities within the region to develop this centre. As a connected health and wellbeing innovation and learning hub, dConnect’s activities will provide significant opportunities for businesses operating in the digital health space to accelerate collaborations with academia, innovators, public bodies and industry.”
Aidan McKennaRegional Director North East and North West Regions, Enterprise Ireland

“What can I say... Every week just blew my mind - I got the opportunity to meet some of the most exceptionally talented people from AWS and DkIT, in our lectures, my mentors and the 1-1 sessions. This 6 week programme has catapulted me at least 6 months ahead. Thanks so much to everyone...”
Gordon Mullins,CEO of MindfulIVF

“The creation of this digital health innovation hub is tremendous news and we, at Almac Group, certainly welcome the collaborative opportunities that it will undoubtedly bring. DkIT is a renowned centre for higher education and research in the North East and this initiative further demonstrates its commitment to building supportive networks and a robust knowledge-sharing infrastructure which, in turn, will stimulate regional and national growth and success.”
Andrew HillisVice President and Group Head of Information Services, Almac Group

“Digitization is critical to progression of the Pharmaceutical / Healthcare industry but it has additional complex challenges that need to be solved, augmenting to better patient care. It is great to see a focus on this at DkIT”
Ronan KellyGlobal Director Smart Factory Lead at Pfizer

“The E Health Embark programme supported us in bringing our product to life with a clear roadmap ahead. Expert input and presentations combined with in depth 1:1 mentoring made each obstacle feel achievable. I look forward to the year ahead and staying connected to this amazing network as we move forward with product development.”
Kathryn Leslie, CEO of Teaching TalkingCEO of Teaching Talking

“We were very grateful to be part of this program, giving Frendo access to so many industry learnings, a wide network and ongoing mentoring and support.”
Dearbhail Ormond,CEO of Frendo

“eHealth Embark was an excellent opportunity for each of the 9 companies to showcase the progress we have made over the past 6 weeks with the support of dConnect and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It was a great experience with weekly seminars and mentoring sessions and we look forward to continuing to work with dConnect and AWS over the coming months."”
Lauren Byrne,Project Lead of Isaac

“The eHealth EMBARK programme was extremely specific in highlighting issues, real-world examples, and novel approaches for medtech and digital health companies. DkIT, the Connected Health & Wellbeing Cluster, the dConnect Digital Health Innovation Hub, the 'ICT, Health, Ageing' Research and AWS - are an incredible network of excellent mentors who provided us with a lot of helpful materials and advice. Thank you for the chance to learn and develop.”
Joanna Perkowska,CEO of Neuro Assist Solutions

“I highly recommend the eHealth Embark programme to any digital health or digitally-focused MedTech start-ups. The deep technical and commercial support & mentoring offered by the programme team, AWS, and the invited speakers is invaluable for early-stage companies.”
Stephen Geoghegan,CEO of Cymantic Medical

“Six wonderful weeks where dConnect shared so much wisdom with us and helped us move forward purposefully. Thanks to AWS for showing us how cloud computing is an essential ingredient in scaling our business. Well done to the well-deserved inspiring winners. Thanks to the judges for the words of encouragement and insightful feedback.”
Adrienne Stack,CEO of Digicare

“The eHealth Embark programme has been very helpful for Raidmed in exploring and understanding the application of AWS cloud into our diabetic daily foot monitoring service to prevent diabetic foot ulcers and avoidable amputations. The customer insights and regulatory mentoring helped us validate our innovation and develop our product and technical roadmap.”
David Branagh,CEO of Raidmed

“We were very grateful to be part of this program, giving Frendo access to so many industry learnings, a wide network and ongoing mentoring and support.”
Dearbhail Ormond,CEO of Frendo

Our Funders

Our People

Carl Power

Director Programmes & Business Development

Ceara Treacy

Community & Education Manager

Surafel Demissie

Software Engineering Executive

Our Board of Directors

Aidan Browne

Head of Business Development & Innovation Dundalk Institute of Technology

Irene McCausland

Vice President of Strategic Planning, Communications and Development Dundalk Institute of Technology

Declan Murphy

CEO Servisource Healthcare

Aprilanna Baker

Deputy Chairperson Cavan & Monaghan Education & Training Board

Thomas McEvoy

Head of Enterprise Louth County Council

Tim McCormac

Head of Research Dundalk Institute of Technology

Steering Committee

Dr. Anita Finnegan

CEO Nova Leah

Philip Hogan

CEO Cliffrun Media

Lorcan Walsh

Digital Endpoint Capability Centre Lead Novartis

Prof. Dave Burke

Director of Cardiology & Director of Medical Education at the Beacon UCD Academy Beacon Hospital

Dr. Alan Gaffney

Vice president of the Intensive Care Society & consultant Beaumont Hospital

Michael McCoy

Business Owner My Life (Estrella Hall)

Prof. Keith Thornbury

Director Smooth Muscle Research Centre DkIT

Jim O'Donoghue

President S3 Connected Health

Martin Curley

Director, Digital Transformation and Open Innovation HSE

Ronan Kelly

Global Director Smart Factory Lead Pfizer

Deirdre Craven

Senior Regional Development Executive Enterprise Ireland

Prof. Dermot Power

Geriatrician, Seniors Care Mater Hospital

Dr. Julie Doyle

Director NetwellCASALA, DKIT

Sean O'Connor

Founder & COO STATSports

Gavin Shorten

Program Delivery Manager, AI & Cloud Dreamworks IBM

Maeve McGrath

Head of Healthcare Innovation Roche

Andy Bleaden

Director Ecosystems and Membership ECH Alliance

James Boyle

Manager, Business & Relationship Development IDA Ireland

Prof. Fergal McCaffrey

Director Regulated Software Research Centre, DkIT

Contact

Frequently asked questions

What is dConnect?

dConnect is a Digital Health Innovation Hub. We are a bridge between business, the healthcare sector, universities and society. Our cluster across Connected Health and Well-being supports start-ups, helps commercialize research and provides larger businesses and investors with access to innovation. Our aim is to stimulate and enhance growth in Ireland’s Digital Health sector through partnerships and knowledge-sharing.

I have a startup idea, Can you help me?

We support entrepreneurs with any idea in the digital health space. We can offer business mentoring, use a lean startup mentoring approach and guidance on how to engage your customers and assess you market. We can help with your value proposition, messaging and marketing strategy access. We can help with to investor readiness and funding.