Tangent, 5 years of Impact.

Exactly five years ago I joined Trinity College Dublin as the CEO of Tangent @ Portal . As Ireland's leading University the opportunity to lead the newly formed innovation and entrepreneurial hub was as exciting as it was daunting. As I come to the end of my term as the CEO I want to reflect on the journey, recognise the incredible community of colleagues, supporters, and especially our students and startups who began their 'Journey of an Idea' with Tangent.

Firstly, it is important to speak to impact:

• Over 5000 learners educated (Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and Professionals)
• 55 student startups directly supported on LaunchBox
• Over €110m raised by student startups and counting
• 200 early-stage startups supported on accelerators (EIT and privately funded)
• 4000 Trinity students mentored

Anyone who has met me over the past five years will have heard me talk about and breakdown 'the Journey of an Idea'. We have provided the Trinity community (and the wider national and international entrepreneurial community) a front door to take an idea and turn it into impact through the provision of

• engagement activities aimed to inspire and excite our community,
• educational programs to build personal capacity and equip our learners with the right tools, and
• incubation and acceleration activities to generate impact.

Education Impact

Tangents Undergraduate Certificate is a certified program that 2nd and 3rd-year undergraduates could take in addition to their primary degrees. Its popularity has grown so much that last year we had to turn away hundreds of applicants due to limited funding but still over 100 students from across college participated in this unique, first in Ireland, course led by Louise Andrews and Dr Maeve O'Dwyer .

On the UG Cert, nearly all the 24 schools in Trinity were represented in the programs, a truly multidisciplinary course for all students.

On the Postgraduate education side of the unit, over the past 5 years, six new certified programs were created, many of which were collaborations with ambitious and forward-thinking schools such as:

Postgraduate in Climate Entrepreneurship with Director of the Centre for the Environment Associate Professor Quentin Crowley in the School of Natural Sciences with the support of the very talented Joanne Corley .

PG in Healthcare Innovation with Ad. Assistant Professor. Dan Maher and Assistant Professor Alison Keogh Faculty of Health Sciences and Tangent Program Manager Rosemary Deneher

PG Cert in Workplace Wellness with Founder of the Workwell Institute and course Director Brian Crooke .

PG in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship with the School of Psychology's Assistant Prof. Adele Grazi Tangent Educational Coordinator Jeanne Le Corre.

Tangents PIER Program, a Postgraduate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Researchers led by Dr Maeve O'Dwyer

And finally, a program that has been very special to us, our regional PG, delivered in 10 locations across Ireland, the PG in Innovation and Enterprise Development (a Tangent flagship program that took Trinity College out of Dublin, one of the first times this happened in its 432-year-old history) led by Rosemary Deneher and Paula Castro .

The numbers of students who participated in these programs speak to the success and impact of these differentiated applied and experiential programs.

The breakdown of these programs also speaks to the appetite and desire of non-traditional and lifelong learners to gain new skills and begin their transformation.

Approximately 69% of students on PG's were female and the average age was 46 years old.

It is so important to recognise that these numbers are people's personal stories. Every student participating in a Tangent program had unique motivations. Whether it was to shift a career trajectory, pursue a startup dream, seize opportunities within their organisations, or simply expand horizons and acquire new skills. It takes immense courage and unwavering commitment to embark on a journey of personal transformation.

Professional Education

In 2020 we embarked on developing a series of professional programs. These represented programs of various duration and content but all related to innovation, creativity, and developing an entrepreneurial mindset. From masterclasses to professional series. This is when Shay Butler took a commanding lead on developing the portfolio of 'Sustainable Innovation' programs. A total of 19 masterclasses could be individually or collectively selected by professionals and their employers. These programs have been delivered to organisations across the country and continue to support a growing national ambition for Ireland to enhance its innovation capability.

All these programs and much more have been delivered by a dedicated team of professionals. I also want to recognise the relentless professionalism of Ewelina Gawryl , Examination and Assessment Officer and Anna Baczek Education Program Officer.

At the helm of Tangent Education was the immensely talented and capable Dr Daniel Rogers and Academic Director Jake Byrne

Entrepreneurship Impact

The Entrepreneurial Unit in Tangent has the responsibility to support students by offering a range of supports include mentoring, workshops, advice etc.. An incredible range of incubation and acceleration programs have been delivered over the past five years.

Over five years the Entrepreneurship team has done an amazing job of supporting thousands of students with mentoring, coaching, and advice. They have supported students who will turn up at their door or book a slot online any time of the day (and even night). Every student in Trinity that has engaged with Tangent for support regarding their ideas will have worked with the very professional, enthusiastic and energetic support of Joseph Lanzillotta , Alison Treacy , and Zaur John Unsizada .

The impact of Student Entrepreneurship in numbers

LaunchBox is Tangents student accelerator. Originally a major win for Prof. Vinny Cahill , John Whelan, Stuart Coulson and Brian Caulfield who developed and provided funding to get it set up. Over the past 11 years, 113 student startups have secured hard-won places in the program.

Keep an eye out for the next generation of Student Entrepreneurship in Trinity and Ireland with the www.openincubator.ie led by Joseph Lanzillotta . This is a game changer for student entrepreneurship in Ireland.

Today countless startups have been set up by past students, many students have brought their entrepreneurial skills into other organisations and some more have driven their passion to work with funders, VC's, other innovation hubs, and beyond.

I will never cease to be inspired by the students who have come to Tangent with so much determination and grit. Here are just a few:

In 2023 Trinity recognised, as part of the Innovation Awards, the student innovation category for the first time.

Our students have also been recognised by Forbes 30 under 30 and the Irish Independents 30 under 30.

Beyond our Trinity students, Tangent has been very successful in running many European and other accelerators for early-stage startups. At the helm of these has been Breandán Goss and our many contributors and supporters leading the charge.

Over 200 startups from across Europe, in collaboration with many European partners have benefitted from these accelerators. With a thematic focus in sectors such as Health, AI, Climate (Carbon Removal, Built Environment, transportation), the Circular Economy, and the most recent announcement of our partnership with Rosemary Steen and the Design & Crafts Council Ireland many newly formed startups have received vital extra support they needed to ensure their foundations are stable and they are headed for success.

All led by Tangent's skilled Head of Entrepreneurship Gavan Drohan

Engagement and Community

It takes a community for all of this to happen. Everyone who has worked with Tangent will undoubtedly have engaged with ever energetic and enthusiastic Aine Phelan . Aine has led the Engagement team over the past nearly five years. With responsibility for our incredible space, the community, communications and marketing, student recruitment, and EIT programs with program Manager Margaret Walsh .

Tangents ecosystem has been an incredible network of activities, supporters, visitors, events, and so much more. I think the next series of photos speak to the over 55,000 guests we welcomed to the floor, hundreds of events, and countless meetings!

Recognising the entire Tant team

And a special thank you to the ever supportive Susanna Buttice , Síofra Flood and Eamon O'Gorman

Jean Callanan for your support and guidance with strategy and to all our contributors who have been part of the journey.

Tangents Advisory Board

I am beyond grateful and cannot express my gratitude enough for the incredible group of amazing board members who guided me and the team in creating, developing, and with consistent unwavering support, helped create these incredible impacts.

Chair Brian Caulfield (Chair 2016 - 2021) - AKA The Godfather of Irish Startups.

Chair Louise Grubb (Chair 2021 - 2023) Award-winning Entrepreneur and CEO and Founder of TriviumVet

Julie Spillane , Managing Director, Accenture

Dr. Emma Stokes , VP of Global, Trinity College Dublin

Pierce Dargan , LaunchBox participant x 2, LaunchBox winner with Equine MediRecord ,

Declan McKibben , Executive Director of the Adapt Research Center

Past members Michael McLoughlin (Bank of Ireland), Professor Andrew Burke (past Dean of Trinity Business School), Professor Vinny Cahill Professor of Computer Science Trinity College, Adrian Lynch Director in RTE.

There are two Board Members, past and present, to whom I would like to say a few words.

Stuart Coulson has been with LaunchBox and Tangent for more than 10 years. He has been an incredible support and so generous in every way. Thank you!

Dr. Diarmuid O'Brien who was my leader for the first 2 years in Tangent, I learned so much about Innovation, the University and much more. Thank you!

A special thanks to Provost Linda Doyle for her support over the years.

Also the funders who made it all possible Bank of Ireland , Vivienne Patterson and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science : Human Capital Initiative and Springboard, EIT - European Institute of Innovation and Technology , Minister Simon Harris Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science , and EIT - European Institute of Innovation and Technology,

Thank you for your support and guidance.

Lastly, I wish Trinity's Chief Innovation and Enterprise Officer Michelle O. every success with the evolution of Tangent and the wider team in Trinity.