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The eEolas Institute was a joint venture between Dublin City University, the family of Tony Ryan, and Davy Hickey Properties, intended to develop the relationship between academic institutions and enterprise in Ireland. It was located in a landmark building at Citywest business park, near Saggart in southwest Dublin.
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DCU Ryan Academy
The DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship, the first, and ultimately only, component of Eeolas, opened in October 2005.
The DCU Ryan Academy was home to the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation in Ireland, and also hosted the Irish arm of the US-based National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), which helps young people from less well-off backgrounds to build skills.
It appointed 174 leading professionals as Fellows in 2007.
Closure
The Institute, campus and the Academy were closed during 2008, after the 10 million euro initial investment was followed by 1.3 million euro of losses. Eeolas Institute Ltd. was dissolved, and the website, and current references on DCU's website, were deleted.
The new Academy re-opened in early 2009.
Areas of Focus include Education & Networking (Innovative, superior quality programmes relevant to the needs of existing and future entrepreneurs and supportive of the Government’s Smart Economy and social policies), research (Providing leadership in the fields of research and policy development for selected areas of entrepreneurship and innovation), collaboration (Promote entrepreneurship and innovation by forming and coordinating national and international partnerships with universities, state agencies, social sector, Corporates, multinationals and Small and Medium sized companies). The Academy also works in collaboration with others in innovation, for example working on the Your Country Your Call project that was launched by President Mary McAleese in February 2010.
The new Academy also delivers short term modules in subjects such as Social Enterprise Development, Foresight, Entrepreneurship for Engineers and New Product Development, and longer term courses for post-doctoral students in DCU under Academy's Director of Programmes Gordon McConnell.
Reopening of Ryan Academy
A new Director was appointed in early 2009, and the Ryan Academy recommenced operations, with the website restored, in February 2009; there was nó further news on the eEolas Institute.