SENTINUS Vs POTUS

Clashing directly with the recent G8, President Obama's visit to the Waterfront Hall,  and the associated (and over-hyped) traffic chaos in Belfast city centre, is the type of nightmare scenario that would give most event organisers sleepless nights. Yet despite this, hundreds of young innovators and their teachers from across Northern Ireland still attended NI’s Largest Science Fair – the Sentinus Young Innovators Exhibition –at the nearby Odyssey Arena. 

While Obama was eloquently suggesting that NI's future lay in the hands of the younger generation within the Waterfront Hall (and by association, not those of our comparatively ageing politicians, media and business leaders that also managed to snaffle a ticket), the Odyssey was meanwhile bursting with the very thing he must have had in mind.

As exemplars of what is required to drive forward a strong knowledge based economy in Northern Ireland, these young primary and secondary school students(and their excellent teachers) were at the Odyssey from early on - with their innovations and experiments in tow. Keen to avoid the expected traffic problems and with many travelling long distances from all parts of Northern Ireland they were not going to be deterred by the presence of Presidents or Prime Ministers. They have a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and were determined to showcase their excellent innovations. It was also an opportunity to meet and learn from fellow innovators from all traditions and to test themselves against their peers.

While it was a hugely successful event with many remarkable inventions and innovations on display, unfortunately not all the news was good on the day.  Sentinus Chairman, Jim Stewart took the opportunity to express serious concerns about the current statutory curriculum commitment to STEM subjects in Northern Ireland. Speaking at the event he said;

“The presence of the G8 countries here today brings into sharp focus the economic standards that NI must aspire to and that is particularly apparent in their commitment to the promotion of Science Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects in their schools.  Within Northern Ireland we have unfortunately been falling behind in this global race and the current curriculum commitment to the delivery of STEM subjects in our schools fall far short of what is needed to compete with the strongest economies in the world. In many primary schools STEM subjects are barely given lip service while in secondary schools there is no requirement for students to take STEM subjects, with the exception of maths, at GCSE level. If we are to compete with the best in the world we must inspire and enthuse more young people, like those attending the Young Innovators Event today, to see the importance of STEM subjects. Our concern is that we are barely able to meet the needs of current employers seeking such skills and if we are serious about becoming a strong knowledge economy, it is imperative that we act now and prioritise STEM on our school curriculum.”

With G8 mania behind us, this is a challenge that our politicians and leaders would do well to tackle. Developing a knowledge based economy is recognised as a critical part of our future economic aspirations and instilling an interest and passion for STEM subjects in our young people is a fundamental building block. Some have said that Northern Ireland has always had an innovation gene - but even accepting that was the case,  it would appear that we need to rediscover it and to ensure it is embedded in our young people's DNA.    

Business Editor at the Belfast Telegraph, David Elliot  picked up on this point in a recent editorial where he said; "That news needs more urgent attention than anything which came out of G8 and should be the big take away from everything which has gone on this week."  

Hopefully these words and those of Jim Stewart will not be lost in the G8 afterglow.

Beware of 'Twibel' Law

One of the many potential fall outs from the now infamous Newsnight broadcast on 2nd November may have major implications for users of Twitter. We now know that the broadcast carried mistaken claims by a former care home resident that he had been sexually abused by a prominent Conservative politician.

Following the broadcast, there was much speculation as to who that politician was. Some of this discussion was via Twitter, with a large number of individuals linking Lord McAlpine to the Newsnight report – which in turn caused his name to appear as a "trending topic" on Twitter alongside that of Newsnight itself.

Following clarification that this was mistaken identity, recent media reports suggest that Lord McAlpine may now be considering suing some of those for libel and if he proceeds it may represent a significant landmark in the development of what has been coined ‘Twibel’ Law.

In recent months and following some high profile cases there has been increasing clarity around the legal position of Twitter posts which everyone would do well to be mindful off. When you post content online, be it Twitter, Facebook, Blogs or even on the many comment sections of online news pages, you are responsible for that content. In effect when you post online, the law suggests you are acting as a publisher and those publications are subject to the same laws as other publishers, such as newspapers. Importantly, retweet’s also amount to a further publication and makes the retweeter responsible. In case you’re wondering ignorance of the law is not a reasonable defence.

In addition, the individual who originally tweeted the defamatory tweet is also likely to be held responsible for any retweets, as in publishing it in the first instance they may reasonably expect others to retweet it. Neither is it a defence for retweeters to say they were simply repeating a statement made by someone else even if they do so verbatim. Just because something is already circulating out there does not make fair game and the more retweets received the more damage it can do and hence the greater and more costly the libel action it may then trigger. As the law currently stands, libel is actionable without proof of damage and so, on the face of it, you can even get sued if you tweet something defamatory and don’t have any Twitter followers. That sad fact may just lessen the perceived damage done.

If Lord McAlpine does sue (and let’s face it, unlike many others he may well have the wherewithal and necessary support to do so), this high profile case will join the increasing number facing the courts.

In England’s first libel case involving Twitter in March of this year, New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns was awarded £90,000 in damages after he was wrongly accused of match-fixing by Lalit Modi, the former chairman of the Indian Premier League. Modi was also ordered to pay Mr Cairns' £400,000 legal costs ! Lawyer and defamation expert Niri Shan, said at the time: "'This case demonstrates that posts on Twitter are taken as seriously, in the eyes of the law, as comments printed in mainstream press. Whilst people may feel less cautious about tweeting- the level of risk they are taking, and protection of those being referred to, remains the same.”

It would seem that with total costs amounting to over £1 Million in that case, we should all be a little more careful with the next ‘140 characters or less’ message we tweet or retweet– at the full 140 characters that equates to £7,142.85+ per character – ouch !

Digital TV Goes Local

While much of the focus has been on the digital TV switchover here (with Northern Ireland being the last UK region to witness the end of analogue) another digital development has flown somewhat below the radar. Northern Visions TV, the long established not for profit community-based media and arts organisation, which operates a media centre in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast, has just been awarded the licence to be the local Digital TV channel in Belfast by media regulator Ofcom.

Well done them ! Not bad for an organisation that just a few months ago was facing closure following the decision by the Arts Council and Northern Ireland Screen to remove its core funding, some would suggest because it fell between two stools.

This decision will see Belfast becoming one of only 21 towns and cities across the UK who have been chosen to join the digital revolution scheme launched by former UK Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to enable a new generation of local TV news and content to emerge across the UK.

This should prove to be an interesting experiment in just how important local and regionalised content is to viewers in Northern Ireland, and no doubt will be an exciting venture for all concerned. From what we can glean so far, NvTv hopes to be live on Freeview in Belfast on September 9, 2013, but also plans to launch two ultra local TV news channels online in advance.

As with most local TV channels planned under the scheme, the focus of NvTv will be on news, with the first year seeing six bulletins a day on weekdays and Saturdays, with five-minute bulletins four times in the daytime, and 15-minute bulletins at 7pm and 10pm. Sunday will see a round-up of the week’s news added to the schedule.

There is also a flagship 40-minute Community Today show which will showcase in-depth news coverage every weeknight from the beginning.The general aims of the channel are to broadcast local news, current affairs, and a wide range of cultural, educational, and entertaining programming – in keeping with the previous work of Northern Visions. They are also planning to deliver a regular Current Affairs programme – called 'The Insider', as well as a regular business programme. Ambitious indeed !

Other programmes will encourage citizen journalism, educating in the techniques to produce high quality content using mobile phones and other cheap video devices. We all know just how important mobile phone coverage has become in helping shape the news agenda these days.

A national company will manage the TV transmissions for all the local TV channels and Ofcom has produced maps predicting the coverage. The Belfast city area covers 268,000 people, but the full range of the transmitter is expected to reach more than 645,500 people, albeit to varying degrees.

So for those of you in the Greater Belfast area, just when you thought all your digital retuning days were over, remember to add September next year to your long term calendar. It should make interesting viewing !

European Ombudsmen Gather in Belfast

Senior Ombudsmen from across the British Isles and Europe gathered in Belfast recently to discuss the growing role of Ombudsman services in delivering accountability in both emerging and mature democracies.

The British and Irish Ombudsman Association (BIOA) annual meeting was hosted in NI for the first time and was attended by approximately 150 senior representatives from Ombudsman and Commissioner offices across Europe.

Northern Ireland Ombudsman Dr Tom Frawley CBE, who has partnered with BIOA to host the AGM, was delighted to welcome this prestigious international event to Belfast.

“It was a real honour to play host to an event of this standing, particularly given the profile of the attendees. We were especially delighted with the wide ranging content of the workshops which covered topics such as ‘engaging with the media’, ‘data protection’ and ‘performance management’. With panel speakers including Northern Ireland Human Rights Commissioner, Professor Michael O’Flaherty, and Richard Thomas, Chair of the UK Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, exploring the link between Ombudsman and Human Rights and the Administrative Justice landscape respectively, the workshops and plenary sessions were first class.”

The event has also attracted the attention of international officials including European Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, Gibraltar Public Services Ombudsman Mario Hook and Catalan Ombudsman Rafael Ribó - which was particularly significant for BIOA and for Belfast as the host city. Read more.

Titanic Economy - Innovation gene is alive and well

When the Titanic was launched from Belfast a hundred years ago, the city was known across the world as an industrial and innovation powerhouse.

It had the largest shipyard, the largest ropeworks and was a major exporter of linen and tobacco products.

While those old industries may be gone, new ones are emerging. The Northern Ireland Science Park which today sits alongside the refurbished Titanic Dock and Pumphouse proves the innovation gene is still alive and well. Home to over 100 technology companies employing over 1500 people, it is growing apace as the new engineering skills in software, hi-tec, bio-medical and clean-tech sectors represent the new global exports.  

BBC Newsline's business and economics editor Jim Fitzpatrick reports on the new Titanic Economy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17592265

What Piques your Pinterest ?

The search for the next big thing in social media continues and to many Pinterest seems to offer great potential. Launched in March 2010, Pinterest is a platform that allows you to digitally collect, organise and share your favourite images from the web – such as photos, images of celebs, fashion pics or recipe ideas. As an approved registered user, you can create your own digital pinboards to reflect your varied interests (such as 'favourite movies', 'Favourite Photos of Angelina Jolie’ ‘Best Irish Whiskeys’ or ‘Best Pubs in Ireland’) Safe to say it will give an interesting insight into what floats your boat, so be careful what you decide to pin !

As an illustration of its many potential uses, it seems many blushing brides to be are using it as an online scrapbook to pin pictures of their favourite wedding dresses, flowers, cakes and venues…a virtual mood board if you like, to which their friends and family can also contribute.




To these boards you can 'pin' images from across the web in a number of ways:

· uploading images directly from your computer or phone

· using the 'Pin it' bookmarklet tool to save images viewed either online or offline. This will redirect the image from a site straight to your board using the URL

· or by 'repinning' from other users' boards


In the past three months alone, Pinterest has attracted 11 million unique visitors a week, securing placement on the list of top ten social networks (according to Hitwise data). In December, Pinterest was named the Best New Start-Up of 2011 by TechCrunch, putting it firmly in the spotlight for millions of technology users across the world.

More importantly recent research by Shareaholic indicated the site has overtaken Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn for site referrals, generating 3.6% of referred traffic from January - more than the three of them put together. While still some way off Facebook’s impressive 26.4% it is nonetheless making significant waves for a new kid on the block.

As always the inevitable question is what can it offer the business world ?. Early indications are that while it is not designed for direct customer engagement it still can be used to facilitate sharing and liking among fans if used properly. Pinterest also takes the best of Facebook and Twitter to draw people into its own social space and is currently being experimented with by a number of global brands. For many it will be a case of trial and error and of course close watching of how users of the site engage and interact with the content.

One thing is clear at least. It offers brands an ideal way to listen to what products people like more than others, and why. For now Pinterest isn’t about promoting brands, it’s about letting consumers share what they like and this should remain its primary purpose…at least for the foreseeable future.

One to ‘Pin’ your hopes on ? We suggest you sign up for now and observe it in action, before jumping in with your brand.

'Generation Innovation' Goes Live

One hundred of Northern Ireland’s most innovative and entrepreneurial students have become the first members of the ‘Generation Innovation’ network to encourage them to make opportunities for themselves without emigrating.

The initiative, launched by NISP CONNECT with representatives of the local business community, hopes to stop the brain drain from Northern Ireland by building a physical and online network of Northern Ireland’s brightest students before, during and after their third-level studies. These young people represent the future of the critically important Knowledge Economy that you may have seen me write about in previous posts.

Membership benefits include invites to annual high-profile networking events and access to an online network letting members exchange ideas, post news on their development and seek internships and business relationships.

For more details on the initiative visit http://www.generationinnovation.co.uk/ or view the video below which perfectly captures the opportunity and lays down the challenge.

Knowledge - The Key to an Economic Transformation ?

How long have we been talking about developing a Knowledge Economy in Northern Ireland ? Do we know what a successful Knowledge Economy looks like ? Even if we have some idea, do we know just how important it could be to achieving an economic transformation in Northern Ireland ? Do we know how we measure up against other regions ?

Well... we have now found out the answers to these and many other important questions in the pursuit of a Knowledge Economy. Thursday 27th October saw the launch of the Northern Ireland Knowledge Economy Index - Baseline Report, published by the Northern Ireland Science Park and NISP CONNECT in partnership with Northern Bank. Representing a lot of detailed work it analyses exactly what we mean by a knowledge economy and defines the various metrics against which we need to measure our collective performance. It gives an honest assessment of where we are across key metrics, be they good or bad, and gives useful comparisons with other regions in the UK and further afield. While it shows progress in some areas, equally it highlights where we need to improve. More importantly it spells out the scale of the opportunity that faces us as an economic region, if we can collectively up our game and raise our ambitions. Up to 50,00 new jobs are on offer if we were to become a leading region in the UK for knowledge industries. Not to be sniffed at in the current climate.

There is no doubt that the potential is huge, not only to add thousands of jobs directly, but many more indirectly in various supply chain and support services opportunities. Experience elsewhere shows the exponential positive impact that knowledge economies can create for everyone and we must learn from the best regions in the world.

While the information contained in the Index will be very important in its own right, it is what we do with it that is most important. The Index will ultimately be used to set targets across all the main metrics for the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years and rightly become the focus for all those involved in the knowledge sector. The time for talking is over and what we now need is a concerted effort from all interested parties - public and private sectors - to work collectively towards realising the huge potential that this Report defines.

We look forward to the debate, closely followed by the action !

DEL 'Made Not Born' Campaign Takes to the Road Again

The Minister for Employment and Learning, Dr Stephen Farry kicked off the latest Management and Leadership Skills programme by encouraging small and medium enterprises (SME’s) in NI to consider its Leadership and Management Development programmes and ‘Made Not Born’ events as a means of maximising their people assets. 

The ‘Made Not Born’ campaign is based on the proven concept that great leaders and managers are not born but made. It aims to highlight the benefits of deploying simple but effective management and leadership techniques to the success of SME businesses in Northern Ireland.

This year’s ‘Made Not Born’ programme developed and delivered by Morrow Communications began with a series of free 'Leadership Learning' events across Northern Ireland delivered by experts in the field of Management & Leadership skills. Each event provided expert advice and key Management and Leadership techniques that can be deployed in a business environment.

The schedule began on Tuesday 27 September in the Ramada Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast and continued the following day (Wednesday 28 September) in the Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown when business networking expert Heather White delivered a session on ‘Smarter Networking for SMEs.’

The series resumes on 1st November (Tullyglass, Ballymena) and 2nd November (Everglades Hotel, Derry/Londonderry) with keynote speaker Andrew McMillan, who is credited with developing the much admired John Lewis sales and service culture. On 6th and 7th December we will have Green & Black’s Managing Director, Mark Palmer visit Armagh and Bangor. To register for an event or to find out more about the 'Made Not Born' campaign visit www.delni.gov.uk/madenotborn 





Flish - Dish of the Day at NISP CONNECT 25K Awards

Innovation is clearly alive and well in Northern Ireland if the latest NISP CONNECT 25K Awards are anything to go by. Billed as 'The Search for the Next Big Thing' heavyweights from the local research community battled it out to win both their category and overall awards at a gala dinner held alongside the historic Titanic Dock and Pumphouse on 29th September.



Flish (from Flat-Dish), a team from Queen’s University Belfast who have developed a low cost, low power antenna capable of picking up satellite signals automatically, which could make satellite dishes as we know them a thing of the past, eventually came out on top. They have walked away with a total prize fund of £13,000 as overall winners of the technology entrepreneur awards which are sponsored by the Bank of Ireland UK, QUB, University of Ulster and AFBI (Agri Food and Biosciences Institute) and supported by NI’s Health and Social Care Trusts.

Designed as a commercial experience the Awards aim to encourage researchers to act on their talents, ideas and energy to produce tomorrow’s leading commercial opportunities.

Congratulations must go to all 10 finalists, all of which had cracking ideas with huge commercial potential. Just maybe we had the pleasure of being witness to the genesis of some great innovations which could be truly life changing. Watch this space. You can read more about the winners here.

Generation Innovation - Stemming the NI Brain Drain

A new initiative, designed specifically to help stem and eventually reverse the brain drain from Northern Ireland has been launched  by the Northern Ireland Science Park and other representatives from the local business community. Generation Innovation is a new initiative designed to build a physical and online network of Northern Ireland’s best young people, before, during and after their third level studies or initial career choice.

At a time when Northern Ireland has the opportunity to become one of the most entrepreneurial knowledge economies in Europe, key to this economic transformation is the availability and active engagement of new young talent who can be tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, business leaders and innovators. Currently, many of Northern Ireland’s brightest and best young people choose to leave NI to study or pursue careers elsewhere and according to research recently published by the Department of Employment and Learning, as many as 6 out of 10 who leave to study in Britain never return here to work. If that is not bad enough, many others only retain fleeting relationships with home and subsequently miss out on opportunities to pursue their careers or start a business here.

Generation Innovation is designed to tackle this issue head on and those behind it are now inviting the Principals in all relevant secondary and FE Colleges to nominate Lower Sixth form students who have high potential. They will then be among the first members of this exclusive network which will be officially launched in the autumn.  

Anyone with queries about the initiative can contact Meagan Blanton at the Northern Ireland Science Park on 028 9073 7806 or via email Meagan.Blanton@nispconnect.org

Boundary Commission - Parliamentary Constituencies Review

Morrows has just been appointed by the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland to support the public launch and subsequent consultation around the Sixth Periodical Review of Parliamentary Constituencies due to take place between September and December 2011. As well as managing the public consultation events across Northern Ireland,which will consider the Commission's Provisional Proposals Report, we will support the organisation's PR and media relations activities throughout the consultation period. For anyone interested in sharing their views on the provisional proposals for the new parliamentary constituencies visit... www.boundarycommission.org.uk to find out more.

NI Science Park to Expand to Meet Demand

The Northern Ireland Science Park has confirmed plans to expand its facilities by almost a third, providing additional space for up to 500 knowledge workers...a bit of good news amidst the economic gloom and continuing its amazing progress as a key driver of the NI Knowledge Economy.

This latest phase will see the second of three buildings known as ‘The Concourse’, representing a £6Million investment and a unique partnering of NISP, Belfast Harbour and DETI.



Frank Hewitt, Chairman, NISP; Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster and
Roy Adair, CEO, Belfast Harbour with plans of the new building.



NISP, is already home to approximately 100 companies currently employing approximately 1500 people, with average salaries double the NI average. It is also planning to expand its reach to the Northwest of Northern Ireland and is in discussions with Ilex Regeneration re a regional model based in Fort George in Derry.

You can read more here.