Tag Archives: small business

Small Business Show: Finding New Ways To Educate & Learn – Big Learner

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Small Business Show: Finding New Ways To Educate & Learn - Big Learner [ 9:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Big Learner is a virtual learning environment (VLE) which leverages the functionality and stability of the popular VLE, Moodle.

Two common criticisms of Moodle in the school setting are:
a). It is complex to set up and maintain technically (the current providers are too expensive)
b). The user interaction is complex

To address these issues, Big Learner has developed a new user interaction model, Whitefire™, which acts as a go between for the complex Moodle back end and the teacher and student. This means the user still gets the functionality developed by Moodle with years of testing, now through a user friendly interface. In addition, Big Learner has developed a number of tools that allow both the setup and look and feel of Moodle at reduced time and cost.

Big Learner’s founder and developer, Graham Barker, talks to the Small Business Show about what they do and how they developed it. Graham also explains that they have some other exciting developments in the pipeline that could change the way we educate our children.

Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions For Business Has Sharp Decline

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Sharp drop in Greenhouse Gas emissions in 2011 for Ireland’s Emissions Trading companies.

Data submitted by the EPA to the EU Commission show that emissions of Greenhouse Gases in 2011 for companies in Ireland covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are considerably lower than in 2010.  The data for 2011 shows emissions have dropped sharply to 15.77 Mtonnes from 17.36 Mtonnes in 2010.

The reduction is largely due to a decline in emissions from the cement industry (a decrease of 12%) and from the power generation sector (a decrease of 11 per cent). A slight increase (1%) was noted in the emissions from companies in the Food and Drink sector, reflecting the current strength of this sector.

Dr Maria Martin, from the EPA said,  “The emission reduction reflects both the impact of the current recession in terms of reduced energy and cement demand, and the increased availability of wind generation on the grid. Continued development of both the renewable energy sector and energy efficiency policies is crucial to further reducing power generation emissions.  The decarbonisation of the energy sector is essential to assist Ireland in meeting future Greenhouse Gas emissions obligations and moving us to a more sustainable low carbon economy.”

Over 100 major industrial and institutional sites in Ireland are covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme. These include power generation, other combustion, cement, lime, glass and ceramic plants and oil refining. Also included are large companies in areas such as food & drink, pharmaceuticals and semi-conductors.

World Edition: The Skin They’ll Be In – Plastic That Mimics Skin

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In Focus World Edition: The Skin They'll Be In - Plastic That Mimics Skin [ 9:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A new type of plastic “bleeds” when it’s cut, then repairs itself just like human skin by ‘building molecular bridges’.

Marek Urban and his research team at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg developed the self-monitoring plastic.

Dr Urban talks to focuSMEireland.com about how they developed this groundbreaking proof of concept and explains to us how it could influence the everyday world in which we live.

In Focus: All They Need Is The Air That You Breath – Aeriaq Ltd.

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In Focus: All They Need Is The Air That You Breath - Aeriaq Ltd. [ 13:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Aeriaq are the inventors of a new, energy efficient, air-filtration technology which has been developed to cut down on energy lost by filters in normal air filtration systems.

The company plans to manufacture and market the product in Ireland, focusing on office buildings. Initial export markets are the UK and Saudi Arabia.  Following office buildings, the company will seek to target more sophisticated ventilation systems such as cleanrooms, and eventually cars.

Sean Millar from Aeriaq talks to us about their invention and how they plan to bring it from idea to worldwide commercial success.

NDRC Welcomes 15 New Start-ups Into Acceleration Center

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 Fifteen promising start-up ventures, selected from a competitive field of over 70 Irish and international applicants, have started into NDRC’s Launchpad accelerator programme for digital start-up enterprises.  NDRC’s Launchpad investment programme will culminate in May with a competition for a follow-on investment sourced from VC’s and angels.  NDRC is investing up to €20,000 in each start-up to support the founders during the programme.

The start-ups include businesses with diverse applications for digital technology ranging from medical training simulators to music analytics systems and apps for people with eating disorders.  Projects include cloud based customer service applications and systems for learning management, car sharing, urban planning and restaurant management.  Other concepts include a social media strategy tool, children’s travel review site, education management tools and pharmacy management software.

Following the competitive selection process, NDRC Launchpad participants have started a three month intensive mentoring and advisory programme alongside other start-ups, innovators, engineers and investors.  At the end of this period, the start-up promoters will pitch for follow-on investment.

NDRC Launchpad Director Gary Leyden said: “These are new ventures headed by talented entrepreneurs with very innovative ideas.  Their future success depends on the ability to convert their projects from ideas into income, creating scalable business models and this is where NDRC has the expertise and experience to actively support them. A priority for NDRC will be to prepare and bring these start-ups to the attention of the investment community to create further value and opportunity.”

Confidence Improves In SME Sector – Retail Still Suffers

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The first quarterly SME business trends survey results for 2012 from ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, confirms that business confidence among the SME sector has improved, with confidence levels at their best in five years. While a huge level of uncertainty still remains over the domestic economy, the export market and a portion of the international situation seems to be improving, led by improved figures from the US, both of these factors are having a positive effect on confidence.

- Following a sharp decline in Q4 ’11, confidence has recovered, while still in negative figures, to minus 1, from a -24. Business expectations have hit a +5, a massive increase from the previous quarter of -26.

- Exporters are by far the most optimistic about the economy and its future and their Business expectations have risen to a +32, while all the other key indicators for exporters are in the plus range with export outlook at a high +64. Exports in services continue to rise and should increase at a rate of 3.6% for the year.

- The Retail Sector remains the most pessimistic at -14, followed by Manufacturing -6, while Services have come back to a +3 from a -6 in Q4, 2011.

- Current turnover remains in negative territory, albeit improving, with sales expectations rising to +23 from a +10 in the previous quarter. The Association expects a further modest growth through the remainder of 2012.

- While SMEs continue to reduce employment, the number of companies with fewer employees has reduced on the previous quarter, with a net 11% of companies reducing employment, an improvement of 2%. While employment expectations have improved, the pick-up in jobs is quite weak and needs a boost from Government.

- Investment, both current and future has shown a gradual improvement, with more SMEs intending to increase their investment than those who intend to reduce. However it is expected that investment will remain subdued and as the household spending is still in decline, the retail sector will continue to operate well below its peak where there is still excess capacity. The difficulty in accessing bank credit for new opportunities will also act as a dampener on new investment

- The outlook for a return to profits has continued to improve in this quarter although a majority of businesses are still in loss making territory.

The Quarterly Trends survey was conducted at the end of March and had a response rate of 21% with 630 responding.

Services Sector Gets Boost In March Statistics

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Ireland’s services sector grew at a slightly weaker pace in March but employment rose for the first time in 11 months and confidence hit a near two-year high, a survey showed today. The NCB Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which measures activity in the services sector, fell to 52.1 from 53.3 in February, staying above the 50 mark that signals growth for the second month in a row.

Ireland returned to recession in the final three months of 2011. The services sector slumped to a 12-month low in January but economic data since then has shown activity returning to levels seen early last year when the economy was expanding. Respondents linked the growth in output in March to higher levels of new business, with signs of an improvement in market conditions, according to Markit, which compiles the PMI data.

New export business at service providers grew for the eighth successive month and at the fastest pace since February last year, the survey showed. That is an encouraging sign. With domestic demand shrinking under the constraints of austerity imposed to meet deficit targets agreed under an EU/IMF bailout, Ireland is heavily dependent on its large export sector. Asian markets were reportedly the key sources of growth in new export orders in March, Markit said. ( C) Reuters