New €30 million research centre will act as an innovation hub – Collins

Fine Gael Cork North West TD, Aine Collins, has today welcomed the launch of a new €30 million research centre being led by the Tyndall National Institute in collaboration with University College Cork (UCC), Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and Dublin City University (DCU). It’s hoped 200 new jobs can be generated by the centre over the next six years.

“Research and innovation plays a vital role in our economic recovery, and the new Irish Photonic Integration Centre (IPIC) will put Ireland in prime position to share in the European photonics market, which is valued at €58 million. The new centre, being led by the Tyndall National Institute in collaboration with University College Cork (UCC), Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and Dublin City University (DCU), will develop cutting edge light-enabled technologies.

“By bringing together more than 100 researchers from the four institutes, the new centre will act as a launch pad for high tech start-ups. Already, the new company X-Celeprint has said it will base its headquarters in Tyndall and create up to 20 jobs in the next two years.

“The new centre is being supported by Science Foundation Ireland through the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. It will receive €20 million from the Government, with an additional €10 million being leveraged from industry. This collaboration illustrates the huge potential which can be harnessed when industry and academia work together.

“Ireland is leading the way in developing our R&D sector, and in particular the Tyndall Institute at UCC has a well established reputation as one of Europe’s leading research centres. The Government fully recognises the importance of investing in science, technology and innovation. Helping companies to develop their R&D capabilities is very important if we want to boost job creation in this sector.

“The sort of research which will be carried out at IPIC will create high value jobs, and its work will help further develop Ireland’s reputation as a hub for science, enterprise and innovation.”

ENDS