Third FAST-IP Programme to launch next wave of Agri-tech start-ups commences
FAST-IP has announced that twelve participants have commenced its third food and agriculture entrepreneurship programme dedicated to launching the next wave of agri-tech start-ups.
Food and Agriculture Sustainable Technology Innovation Programme (FAST-IP), a 12-month in-person specialist programme, is aimed at mid-career professionals and provides participants with the skills necessary to evaluate, select and validate ideas for new products and services in the agri-food sector, and to accelerate the commercialisation pathway of these ideas.
FAST-IP is delivered by the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering and NovaUCD in partnership with Teagasc at the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre, UCD Lyons Farm in Co. Kildare, under the Innovators’ Initiative Programme which is managed by Enterprise Ireland.
Three teams – Agriwave, BiCO and Mehal – which completed the inaugural FAST-IP programme have recently secured a total of €1.9 million in commercialisation funding from Enterprise Ireland to progress the translation of their projects into commercially viable start-ups over the next two-years. Twenty-one participants have completed the two FAST-IP programmes delivered to date.
“Developing globally ambitious, innovation-driven companies from Ireland’s research and knowledge base is a key priority for Enterprise Ireland,” said Emma Callinan, Director of Spin-outs and Research Commercialisation, Enterprise Ireland.
“FAST-IP exemplifies the type of needs-led entrepreneurship that is central to this ambition, bringing talented individuals closer to customers and industry challenges, and equipping them to translate insight, research and innovation into commercially successful ventures,” Emma Callinan said.
Professor Nick Holden, UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering and Academic Director, FAST-IP, said: “We were delighted to have received just under 300 expressions of interest for this year’s FAST-IP programme which is a strong indication of the continuing demand for this exciting food and agriculture entrepreneurship programme.
“I would especially like to congratulate the 12 participants who have been selected for the third programme, following a rigorous interview process, and I wish them every success over the coming year,” Nick Holden said.
FAST-IP, aligned with Ireland’s national agrifood strategy, Food Vision 2030, aims to support establishing Ireland as a leader in sustainable food systems by balancing climate-smart agriculture, environmental and economic sustainability, and innovation.
“Attracting the 12 high-calibre FAST-IP participants with the ambition and ability to translate ideas into impact is critical to Ireland’s agri-food innovation ecosystem,” said Dr Siobhán Jordan, Head of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation
“Through FAST-IP, Teagasc and UCD are developing a pipeline of innovators with the potential to create new solutions, businesses, and opportunities that can make a real difference to the future of Ireland’s agri-food sector,” Dr. Siobhán Jordan added.
FAST-IP is accredited by UCD at Level 9 on the National Qualifications Framework and participants who complete the programme will be awarded a Graduate Diploma in Agrifood Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Applications for the fourth (2027/28) FAST-IP programme will open in early 2027.
FAST-IP is supported under the Innovators’ Initiative Programme co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.