Our COP26 events

RISE@UofG – Founders’ Club launch event

RISE@UofG – Founders’ Club launch event

UofG Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Engagement; WREN presents:
Date: Monday 28 October 2024
Time: 15:45 - 18:00
Venue: Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow, room 237ABC
Category: Social events, Academic events, Student events, Alumni events, Staff workshops and seminars
Speaker: Joe O'Keeffe and Shireen Davis
Website: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rise-founders-club-launch-joe-okeeffe-and-shireen-davies-tickets-1020381658007

Join the University’s premier network for entrepreneurs and innovators.

The hybrid RISE@UofG launch event will take place both in person at the University’s Advanced Research Centre (ARC) on Monday 28 October and on-line for the speakers and panel elements.

To book your tickets, please visit the Eventbrite listing

You can also learn more about RISE@UofG under glasgow.ac.uk/rise

 and join the network on our LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13084250/

About the Speakers

Joe O’Keeffe is a serial entrepreneur and founder of InfiniLED, a MicroLED display technology company acquired by Facebook in 2016, and SensL, a sensor technology firm acquired by ONSemi. He is the former VP of Display Research at Meta, where he led technology development for AR, VR, and Portal products. Joe has also launched many other start-ups, including Nannocoms, EnBIO, PixQuanta, and PlasMedica. He currently supports around ten early-stage deep-tech startups, focusing on AR/VR, optics/photonics, semiconductors, and AI. Additionally, Joe is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Tyndall Research Institute in Cork. He has a strong background in technology and business, with degrees from Dublin City University and University College Dublin.

Shireen Davies is a Glasgow-based entrepreneur originally from Singapore, holding an Honorary Professorship at the University of Glasgow and is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Shireen is CEO and co-founder of SOLASTA Bio, which she has scaled from a University of Glasgow spin-out to a prominent scale-up with over 20 employees and a US subsidiary. Her leadership has been instrumental in securing substantial funding, including a recent $14m Series A round. SOLASTA Bio is at the forefront of developing innovative bioinsecticides through first-in-class, tiny proteins designed to target major insect pests.  This approach offers cutting-edge solutions to the global challenge of sustainable food production.

Shireen has a distinguished track record in innovation, team building, and fundraising, including several prestigious fellowship awards. Most notably, she received the UKRI BBSRC Enterprise Fellowship.

Her accolades include the Scotland Knowledge Exchange and Glasgow Entrepreneur of the Year awards in 2020, the 60s competition at the World Agritech Innovation Summit 2022, and the Radicle UPL Challenge in San Francisco in 2024.

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