The North West Regional College (NWRC) Business Support Centre (BSC) assists businesses right from fledgling entrepreneurs and micro companies, to long-standing indigenous and multi-national and foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses with tailored solutions to meet their needs.

The BSC offer support to industry in two main ways:

  • Our Innovation and Skills Centres, assist businesses to source funding to undertake applied innovation, research and development and then fostering innovation by delivering tailored solutions, with the skills and knowledge required, in areas of new product, process or service development, to support businesses to be more innovative and competitive.
  • Our Skills team support businesses to identify their skills needs and tailor bespoke training and upskilling specific to the business needs.

At the NWRC we are committed to encouraging and stimulating innovation through new product development and process or service improvement. The NWRC has 5 dedicated innovation and skills centres across the specialist areas of Food and Hospitality, Manufacturing and Engineering, Extended Reality, Health and Care and industry 4.0 automation, that deliver high-quality skills and innovation support to students, entrepreneurs, industry and the wider economy. These are the:

The support available for early-stage entrepreneurs, micro and SMEs includes:

  • Bespoke upskilling and training and one-to-one mentoring,
  • Access to state-of-the-art equipment and industry-standard workshops including new technology demonstrations and NWRC staff with the associated skills,
  • Technical staff with knowledge and expertise in idea generation, proof of concept creation and prototype development right through to scale-up of production,
  • Conducting industry applied research and development (r&D)

With the support of the BSC team, we aim to assist business to find new markets, scale-up production and to rapidly and effectively bring new ideas and products to market to increase sales, reduce costs, access new markets while enhancing workforce skills and creating employment.

For more details, explore our Innovation and Skills Booklet.

Meet The Team

Black and white photograph of a man wearing a checkered shirt and patterned tie, with a blurred background suggesting an indoor setting. The face is obscured by a grey square, focusing attention on clothing and posture rather than identity.

Dr.Fergal Tuffy

Business Support Centre Manager

Contact

028 7127 6390 Fergal.Tuffy@nwrc.ac.uk

Fergal is the Business Support Centre Manager at North West Regional College. His role involves initiating and leading policies, programmes and projects to ensure delivery of the College’s priorities for economic development, employer engagement, and business innovation, as set out in the College Development Plan.

Fergal leads the College’s team of technical consultants and academic staff in industry focused projects and manages the engagement with business and stakeholders. He manages the NWRC’s engagement and delivery of Technology Transfer Programmes such as KTP, Fusion, Innovation Vouchers, and the InnovateUs Employer Support Programme, which contribute to the income generation and employer engagement targets for the College.

Fergal has over 12 years’ experience managing applied research and development projects between industry and academia and his previous industry experience involved working as a Health Research Technologist at Intel Ireland, a Process Engineer at Du Pont and CAD Technician at E&I Engineering.

Fergal graduated from the Ulster University with a BEng Honours in Electronics and Computing (1st) and a PhD in Intelligent Systems Engineering. He also holds a HND in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and a PGCE in Further and Higher Education. He also holds qualifications in Business Improvement Techniques (BIT), leading quality improvement and Prince 2.

Bronagh Fikri

Business Skills Manager

Contact

028 7127 6179 bronagh.fikri@nwrc.ac.uk

Bronagh is the newly appointed Business Skills Manager. She is responsible for managing and directing economic engagement with small and medium sized enterprises to provide skills development solutions, tailored to business needs. Bronagh also helps to promote the Apprenticeship NI and Higher Level Apprenticeship programmes offer by the Department for Economy.

Bronagh graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 2000 with a BA (Hons) Business Studies and City & Guilds Licentiateship. Since then she has gained experience working in sectors such as textiles, manufacturing, health & social care and training & education. Bronagh is a qualified EFL teacher and lived and worked in Morocco for 4 years.

She also holds her A1 Assessors’ Award and can assess on Business Studies, Health & Social Care and Employability & Work Skills qualification courses. Bronagh was nominated by the UK ECVET Experts to sit on the ECVET Community of Practitioners’ Network due to her involvement and experience in this area.

Stella Graham

Foodovation Manager

Contact

028 7127 6408 Stella.Graham@nwrc.ac.uk

Stella is Manager of the NWRC’s Food Innovation Centre, the Foodovation Centre, and is responsible for managing the Centre and developing relationships and partnerships with local businesses in the area of Food Product Development. This involves engaging and supporting companies in the areas of product innovation, product development and technical support to assist the business in bringing their ideas to market ready products.

Stella gained her MSc in Food Management from Sheffield Hallam University and her BA (Hons) Consumer Studies from University of Ulster.

Stella is a successful NPD professional with over 10 years’ experience in NPD with leading food manufacturers in NI. She has detailed knowledge of the product development process from concept to launch and has experience in Bakery, Meat & Dairy Sectors. Within her career she has launched in excess of 100 products both for key brands & retail own label.

Photograph of a person with a blurred face, wearing a light-coloured collared shirt against a softly focused background. The image highlights the individual's upper body and head, with natural lighting and a neutral tone.

Philip Devlin

Product Design Centre Manager

Contact

028 7127 8783 philip.Devlin@nwrc.ac.uk

Philip is NWRC’s Product Design Centre Manager. He graduated from the University of Ulster with a (BEng Hons) Degree in Renewable Energy Engineering. Philip has experience working with Computer Aided Design (CAD) package Solidworks, carrying out tasks such as Finite Element Analysis and Simulation.

He has also worked with 3D solar software PV Sol software, detailing configuration and shade analysis for PV systems within the solar industry.

Philip’s expertise is within the renewable energy sector and 3D printing with keen interests in the wind, solar, hydro and bio fuel technologies. He has been involved in the design and manufacture of a bio fuel plant, converting many different oil types into bio fuel. He also has a keen interest in 3D printing with extensive knowledge of FDM and SLA printers.

During his time in Product Design, Philip has aided in the launch of several products which have proven to be a success in the marketplace. He is also an alumni of NWRC.

Black and white photograph of a man wearing a collared shirt in an office setting with computer monitors displaying graphs and charts in the background. The scene suggests a professional environment focused on data analysis or financial work.

Jim Murray

XR Hub Manager

Contact

028 7127 6317 Jim.Murray@nwrc.ac.uk

Jim is the XR Hub Manager at the Business Support Centre. The XR Hub helps support local businesses with projects in the field of XR (Extended Reality), including Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. The team in the XR Hub can help upskill businesses to take advantage of this new technology, giving businesses an opportunity to offer something unique to their market or use it to streamline their processes.

As well as XR, the team also supports a variety of Creative Media and IT based support.

Jim specialises in areas of Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality, Videogame design and development, Interactive Media, Quality Assurance and Testing.

He graduated from Ulster University with a BEng (Hons) in Computer Game Development and has throughout his career worked by combining technical and creative skills. Jim is a qualified PRINCE2 Practitioner and PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner. He has over 10 years project management experience, managing teams of developers, artists, and designers. Jim has worked in videogame development, AR/VR, app development, software, and various emerging technologies.

He enjoys designing solutions to problems and working with others to see them to completion.  Jim is a results-oriented person who believes that with the right process which focuses on the customer’s needs, scope and scalability, any project can reach its potential.

Photograph of a person wearing a black jacket with a "BSC Northwest Region" logo on the chest, seated indoors with industrial or workshop equipment blurred in the background. The grayscale image focuses on the upper body and clothing details, with the face obscured.

Cathal Ferry

Industry 4.0 Centre Manager

Contact

028 7127 6116 Cathal.Ferry@nwrc.ac.uk

Cathal is the Industry 4.0 Centre manager at the North West Regional College. He previously worked for the NWRC Business Support Centre as a Technical Consultant.

Cathal studied at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU, formerly LYIT). He graduated with a B.Eng in Embedded Systems Design and an M.Sc. in Cloud Technologies.

Cathal supports SMEs and specialises in the areas of Industry 4.0 including electronics, Automation, and robotics.

He has worked with over 40 businesses in the last 5 years on funded programs such as Innovation Boost, Digitalisation Boost, Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), Co-Innovate, Innovation Vouchers and Innovate Us.

He has over 8 years of experience working with business in these areas.

Cathal is also PRINCE2 certified and has project management expertise.

Cathals role as the Industry 4.0 Centre manager is to respond to the needs of business and ensure that the college provides up to date training and support to both its students and business clients.

Black and white photograph of a person with long hair wearing a patterned shirt with leaf designs, standing indoors near a window. Background shows blurred outdoor scenery including trees and a building.

Kim Boyle

DIAL Centre Manager

Contact

028 7127 6543 Kim.Boyle@nwrc.ac.uk

Kim Boyle is the newly appointed Manager of the DIAL Centre (Design Innovation for Assisted Living) at North West Regional College, bringing over 30 years’ experience within the College and a strong professional background in health, education, and counselling. She is a Registered Nurse (NMC) and a BACP-registered counsellor, holding a Degree in Nursing, a Postgraduate Diploma in Further and Higher Education, and an MSc in Counselling and Therapeutic Practice.

The DIAL Centre acts as an innovation and demonstration hub, using simulated home design and assistive technologies to showcase how older people and individuals with additional needs can be supported to maintain independence, live well, and remain in their own homes for as long as possible.

In her role as DIAL Centre Manager, Kim provides strategic leadership in inclusive learning, innovation, and assistive practice, supporting the Centre’s mission to remove barriers, widen participation, and enable learner success. She also holds management responsibility for a diverse curriculum portfolio, including Higher Education Health and Social Care, Transition Programmes, Learning Disability, Mental Health, Sign Language, Dental Nursing, Holistic Health, Drug and Alcohol Use, and Counselling. These areas closely align with DIAL’s focus on universal design, learner wellbeing, and person-centred approaches.

Kim is actively involved in regional curriculum development and works closely with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and CCEA to ensure Health and Social Care provision is innovative, inclusive, and responsive to both workforce and learner needs. She is also involved in the development of the annual Global Health Conference, working in partnership with St Petersburg College (Florida), European partners, and Northern Ireland regional colleges.