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Twenty third-level institutions are set to share EUR320 million in research funding from the government, Ireland's largest single investment in research and development in higher education.
The funding has been made under Cycle 3 of the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) and since it began three years ago, total funding provided by the government under the scheme is now at EUR605 million. An EUR58 million contribution to the fund will be raised by the institutions themselves from private donors towards the cost of the programme.
In all, 23 institutions including a number outside the higher education sector will share in the new funding either as lead or collaborating partners. Some of the institutions that will receive funding include the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Dublin City University, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, the Institute of Technology, Sligo, the National University of Ireland, Galway, University College Cork, University of Limerick and the Waterford Institute of Technology.
"The impact of the government's investment for researchers, developers and the institutions themselves throughout the whole research area will be enormous," said the minister for education and science, Dr. Michael Woods, TD when the funding was announced last month. He went on to say the funding would demonstrate Ireland's determination to establish world-class research and development capability, in line with the National Development Plan.
While many of the projects are dedicated to medical and bio-engineering research programmes and facilities, as well as to social sciences, some of the research projects are more focused on technology. These include IEP3.7 million in funding for University College Cork for the development of research in Eco-electronics. Other UCC projects include the establishment of an Informatics Research Centre and the development of research in Nano-photonics under the National Nanofabrication Facility. The two projects will receive IEP4.1 million and IEP12 million in funding respectively.
In total UCC received IEP62 million in new funding. "We welcome this award which will have a major impact on UCC's standing as an international player in nano-science, informatics, environmental and biomedical research and analytical chemistry," commented Gerard T. Wrixon, president, UCC.
Meanwhile Trinity College Dublin has received IEP7 million for the development of research under the PRTLI Cycle 1 funded Institution for Information Technology and Advanced Computation. In total Trinity received investment for eight submitted proposals, totalling EUR58.7 million.
"There has been an increased focus on areas in which the country currently lacks the needed concentration of expertise and in which Trinity, whether on its own or working in conjunction with other institutions, has the potential to meet a national need at an international standard," said the provost of Trinity College, Dr. John Hegarty.
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