SME STATSports acquires and analyses player data for elite sports teams with a client list that includes UK, Spanish and Italian premier league soccer teams and international soccer and rugby teams. With its origins in the DkIT Regional Development Centre, the company has enjoyed a longstanding research relationship with DkIT. STATSports is an Enterprise Ireland client company.
In 2015 a formal collaborative research project began with Professor Fergal McCaffery (director of the Regulated Software Research Centre at DkIT) and a wider research team led by Dr Derek Flood, funded through the SFI LERO Centre. This project sought to develop a wearable technology software development and testing environment to enable STATSports to efficiently develop software applications that make use of the latest medical device software development, security and privacy processes.
The project was successful and by May 2019, STATSports had fully applied and tested security protocols and controls in place to allow software developers to integrate them into the company’s next generation of its Apex product range. The company and DkIT have continued their relationship, working together on further research projects. The company also hired a member of the research team at DkIT thus further strengthening the links.
Speaking of the collaboration Paul Johnson, General Manager at STATSports, explained some of the benefits of this close collaborative relationship: “Our engagement with the Regulated Software Research Centre in DkIT through the Lero funded project has been very beneficial for STATSports. It has enabled us to put cutting edge medical device software development processes in place that will greatly assist us as we look towards providing solutions for the wellbeing and healthcare domains”.
The Regional Development Centre at DkIT supported the collaboration from early incubation, entrepreneur support programmes, placement students, development of collaboration projects, applications for funding, contract development and review and IP protection. The relationship with STATSports has developed and evolved and has become an important component within DkIT’s wider Corporate Partnership Programme.
At the end of 2019 STATSports and DkIT were part of a successful Co-Innovate Strand 5 Cluster Partnership with InterTradeIreland to collaborate on research to explore an enhanced development of the technology platform for a new segment of the market.
Speaking of the relationship between DkIT and STATSports, Aidan Browne, Head of Innovation & Business Development at DkIT said: “Over the past decade we have collaborated extensively with STATSports through a range of support initiatives crossing incubation and entrepreneur support programmes, research and development, student projects, student placements and innovation schemes. The level of focus by both organisations to continue to strengthen the strategic partnership is acknowledged with the success of this collaboration and provides a catalyst to increased engagement and opportunity scoping.”
Published: 2019
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