Developing a global hub

Dr Sinead Keogh, director, IMDA outlines key priorities and activities

For over a decade the Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA), an Ibec group, has worked with companies to make Ireland the best place to do business. In that time the number of companies has risen to 400, and Ireland has become the largest employer of medtech staff in Europe, per capita.

The aim of the association is to promote and support an environment that encourages the sustainable development and profitable growth of its membership. IMDA provides a range of services from bringing together experts on industry foresight, to offering customised training through IMDA’s Skillnet.

Getting the right skills and fostering innovation is vital; collaboration between indigenous and foreign direct investment businesses with academic and clinical experts has become an increasingly important competitive advantage for Ireland.

Developing the network is critical as the industry evolves. IMDA works with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland on a number of strategic projects. For the past nine years, we’ve hosted the Irish Medtech CEO Forum and Awards, to inform industry about important global trends and raise the profile of the sector at home and abroad.

As part of Ibec, IMDA works with government to shape business conditions to drive economic growth. Ibec brings together different sectors across the economy, and there are many initiatives to develop collaborations and policies across multiple sectors on key issues such as Factory 4.0, additive manufacturing and innovative polymer technology. Another key growth area is connected health, with nine of the 10 global companies located here.