Government, industry, and colleges raise €250m for research centres

Almost €250m is to be invested in the establishment of five research centres with collaboration from industry, third-level education institutions, and the Government.

The Department of Enterprise will invest €155m in the five Science Foundation Ireland research centres over the next six years while industry partners are to provide a further €90m in cash and in-kind contributions.

The centres, which follow the establishment of seven others last year, will undertake research in areas of national importance closely aligned to industry and enterprise needs, job opportunities and societal goals.

Commenting on yesterday’s announcement, SFI director general Mark Ferguson said he was confident the five centres, which underwent a rigorous peer review process, would contribute significantly to Ireland’s economy, employment and reputation.

CIT, NUI Galway, University of Limerick, and DCU are involved in the project. The centres will support 700 researcher positions. They will also be involved in more than 165 industry collaborations.

The centres are:

* Adapt: Committed to research and development of global digital connectivity allowing businesses to engage globally in real time.

* Connect Centre for Future Networks and Communications: Focused on broadband, cellular, and internet-of-things networks across areas such as mobile internet, connected health, and smart agriculture.

* Cúram Centre for Research and Medical Devices: Research for patients with chronic diseases through implantable smart medical devices.

* CRAG (Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences): Researchers will carry out work in the discovery and harnessing of raw materials, water and energy resources

* Lero Irish Software Research Centre: Developing software to assist manufacturing, medical devices and cloud computing.