Helena Acheson

Helena Acheson’s career spans a range of national and regional enterprise development and innovation organisations, both private and public, mainly in Ireland and more recently in Germany. She regularly contributes to EU policy development as Chair or Expert and, is a Board Member of CONNECT (Ireland’s Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications) and ARIAC (Government of Alberta’s Research & Innovation Committee), Canada.

A partner in the private consultancy c3-solutions Stuttgart, she provides strategic advice on a range of enterprise development issues, specifically in regard to research and innovation ecosystems, internationalisation and regional development. The c3 partners have detailed experience in priority-setting exercises including Foresight processes, technology transfer, innovation support programmes, cluster initiatives and evaluations of same.

At MFG (2012-2016), the regional innovation agency for Media and Creative Industries in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Helena was responsible for projects and programmes related to technology enhanced learning and media competence, digital culture and creative industries.
For the previous 15 years in Forfás, Ireland she variously managed the Technology Foresight Ireland exercise (1998/1999), the work of the National Competitiveness Council, the Irish Council for Science, Technology and Innovation and the national Science Awareness Programme, DISCOVER.