The Green Innovation and Future Technologies (GIFT) project
Unveils new Green Economy eBook
On Tuesday 11th November 2014 - The Green Innovation & Future Technologies (GIFT)
INTERREG project hosted a special event in University College Dublin (UCD) to mark the
launch of their new eBook entitled: “GREEN INNOVATION AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGY ENGAGING REGIONAL SMES IN THE GREEN ECONOMY”. The event was attended by members
of the GIFT project team from Wales and Ireland, as well as a cohort of invited guests and
colleagues. The launch of the new book is very timely; marking the end of the three year GIFT
project.
GIFT is a multi-disciplinary cross-border collaborative and pioneering project operating
between Ireland/Wales comprising a group of science and business researchers, businesses,
policy makers and stakeholders. The project was led by Bangor University, Wales in joint
partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology and University College Dublin, Ireland.
Since its official launch in 2011, GIFT has successfully enabled small businesses to make
sizeable steps towards sustainability in their respective sectors by engaging with a bespoke
industry-led training and upskilling programme. The overall programme was designed to
facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing best practice between peers and stakeholders with a
green ethos and who operated across a multitude of sectors.
The GIFT eBook is published by Palgrave Macmillan, a global academic publisher, serving
learning and scholarship in higher education and the professional world. The work signifies an
important academic contribution towards existing knowledge on the green economy.
Specifically, the publication explores green innovation and future technology skill
development within regional small to medium sized enterprises. Notwithstanding the goals of
a greener Europe, there has been little debate as to how the skills required to fulfil the goals of
sustainable development can be imparted within regions and particularly, within rural business
communities. A fundamental message emanating from the book is that, the pursuit of green
skill enhancement should be based on multi-level cross-disciplinary collaborative action within
an academic-practice partnership ethos. An inter-disciplinary team of academics and project
specialists explore the gap from theory to implementation in green innovation and provide a
series of cases which highlight the benefits of a stakeholder approach in this context. GIFT is
distinctive in its cross-border, multi-disciplinary approach to the green innovativeness skill
enhancement of SMEs.
The GIFT Project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
The eBook was jointly edited by Dr Felicity Kelliher and Dr Leana Reinl, both members of
the GIFT project team in Waterford Institute of Technology. Dr Kelliher is a Senior Lecturer
in Management Studies and a founder and senior researcher with the RIKON research group,
School of Business, Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland. She is a Fulbright scholar.
Felicity’s research focuses on small/micro-firm learning networks and management capability
development on a regional basis and has published in various international journals, including
the Journal of Tourism Management, the Journal of Business Ethics and the Journal of
Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Dr Reinl is an Irish Research Council Fellow and a postdoctoral researcher with the RIKON
research group, School of Business, Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland. Leana’s
research focuses on small/micro-firm learning; learning networks and evolving learning
communities, and she has published in international journals including the Journal of Tourism
Management and the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development.
In response to the recent GIFT publication, Roger Seddon, Territorial Co-operation Unit,
Welsh European Funding Office, Department for the Economy and Transport, Welsh
Government, described it as: “An essential handbook for all interested in the whys and
wherefores of establishing partnerships in building a green economy. This impressive tome is
both thought-provoking and practical. Chapters are contributed by the high level academic
cohort from the Waterford Institute of Technology (Ireland), Bangor University (Wales) and
University College Dublin (Ireland), as well as by partners in national and regional agencies
on both sides of the Irish Sea, and by businesses of all sizes, including not-for-profit. Explaining
how this wide range of expertise and enthusiasm from two countries was harnessed and
developed with the aid of a European Union grant from the Ireland-Wales Territorial
Cooperation Programme, this handbook offers a unique, comprehensive guide which I expect
will be valuable also in other parts of Europe and world-wide”.
Dr Eleanor Owens, School of Science, WIT and Prof. Denis Harrington, School of Business,
WIT commented: "The scope of the GIFT project as we originally conceived it was to
encourage a green economy in the INTERREG region. The learning network participants in
both regions have now created a unique space wherein they can seamlessly cross traditional
borders through the use and support of smart technology and expert/academic leadership to
successfully collaborate with other businesses, industry experts (public and private sector) and
social enterprises. The book project has allowed us to capture some of these experiences and
transfer knowledge and create new opportunities for green growth within the Wales/Ireland
INTERREG region".
The GIFT Project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
The
book
will
be
available
in
hard
and
soft
copy
(see:
http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/green-innovation-and-future-technology-felicitykelliher/?K=9781137479808)
Pictured attending the recent GIFT book launch in UCD, Dublin are left to right front row:
Dr Sean Storey, GIFT Project, UCD; Dr Evelyn Doyle, GIFT Project, UCD; Dr Eleanor Owens,
GIFT Project, WIT; left to right back row: Dr Tom O' Toole, Head of School, WIT School of
Business; Dr Gareth Griffiths, GIFT Project, Bangor University; Dr Leana Reinl, co-editor
GIFT; Dr Felicity Kelliher, co-editor GIFT; Prof Denis Harrington, GIFT Project, WIT
Funded with €2.3 million from the Economic Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through
the Interreg IVA programme, the GIFT project has focussed on promoting sustainable
development in the areas of the Green Economy, Green Tourism, Waste Management and
Green Technology.
The GIFT project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
and registration to the network and all GIFT events is FREE
The GIFT Project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)