NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 12 October
12-10-2009
by Emmet Ryan
AIT and IT Sligo to offer online degree | Sidekick glitch embarrasses Microsoft
Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) and IT Sligo have collaborated to offer an online degree programme in engineering. The Bachelor of Engineering in Polymer Processing is a two-year add-on degree. The course was developed specifically at the request of Ireland's plastics industry. Graduates from the Level 7 programme will be eligible to advance from process technician level to technician engineering positions in their employment. The first semester of the degree will be delivered from IT Sligo, while the second semester will be delivered from AIT. Apart from a small number of practical laboratory sessions, the course will be delivered entirely online, with each student receiving extensive tutor support.
Internet-related companies are being invited to apply for a new growth development programme launched by Enterprise Ireland in association with the Internet Growth Alliance. The Internet Growth Acceleration Programme (iGAP) for high potential start-ups will provide budding web companies with the tools and skills to develop and execute aggressive international growth plans. The programme will offer support to participants through practical learning modules, mentoring from experience business leaders and industry networking, among other elements. Topics to be covered will include monetising the business, revenue models, marketing, customer acquisition and retention, and preparation for funding. Applications for the programme, which starts in November, are being accepted until 16 October. For more information see http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/igap/.
Tolling services provider Easytrip has developed an installation guide for electronic tags used at toll plazas in Ireland. According to Easytrip, one of the major reasons that people receive fines from toll plazas is because electronic tags are not correctly installed on their windscreen and the vehicle details are not updated. The video-based guide is designed to help alleviate this problem. It can be viewed at www.easytrip.ie.
Businesses in Ireland are wasting millions of euro annually, according to printing services firm Ricoh, due to the neglecting of document governance. According to a study by Ricoh, only 34 percent of Irish and UK companies have implemented a document governance strategy, despite the total European document spend exceeding EUR14 billion a year. The report found that 78 percent of senior executives in Ireland and the UK believe improved document governance will generate cost savings but only 54 percent of firms actively monitor document costs.
IT and management consultancy firm BearingPoint Ireland has completed the installation of its Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence technology for Loyaltybuild. The deal with the Ennis-based marketing company is worth EUR200,000. The new installation will help Loyaltybuild manage a database of 2,200 hotels and holiday homes, which would generate around 500,000 bookings a year.
A total of 33 second-level students were on Friday awarded Intel Excellence in Science medals in recognition of their achievement in SciFest 2009. SciFest is a national festival of science organised regionally in collaboration with the Institutes of Technology. It is open to all second level students. The aim is to encourage a love of science through project-based learning and to provide more opportunities for students to present and display the results of their scientific investigations. The SciFest initiative is jointly funded by Intel and Discover Science and Engineering as project partners. Each of the students had been either individual or group winners of the 'Best Project' awards at SciFest 2009.
Microsoft Ireland is expanding its Bizspark programme to include the latest initiative in its Spark series, WebsiteSpark. The new initiative is designed to create a partner network and help enable business development for professional web development and design companies with up to 10 employees and owners. The official launch of the programme will take place on 20 October and will offer web professionals the opportunity to explore the opportunities open to them as part of the WebsiteSpark Programme.
In other Microsoft news the firm has said a technical error was the likely cause of the loss of contacts, photos and other personal data for users of the T-Mobile Sidekick. The snafu is a cause of embarrassment for Microsoft which supplies software and online services for the phone. For over a week Sidekick users have endured problems with the handset's online capabilities, preventing access to contacts, calendar appointments and other personal data that are stored on server-computers operated by Microsoft. Microsoft took over the operation of the Sidekick service and software when it acquired Danger early last year.
Google has launched its second annual Doodle 4 Google art and design competition. The competition is open to all primary and secondary school children in the Republic of Ireland and those entering are asked to create a doodle on and around the Google logo based on the theme 'My Future'. The winning doodle will be viewed by millions of internet users when it is placed on the Google Ireland homepage on 3 March. The winner will receive a laptop for themselves and their teacher and a technology grant of EUR10,000 will be awarded to the winning school.
Finally, RTE took top honours at the Irish Web Awards at the weekend, claiming the title of Best Irish Website. RTE also took home the gongs for Best Sport Website and Most Useful Website. Other winners at the event included Irishtimes.com, which was named best online publication, and Dance Ireland, which took home the Best Arts prize.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 