11 December 2023
Ireland invests close to €1bn annually in research and innovation
Ireland is doubling down on research, development and innovation (RDI), with a significant new investment announced last week by Enterprise Ireland.
But while the topic is high on the agenda in every business sector and is regularly discussed by industry, government and media commentators, we don’t always talk about how RDI affects our everyday lives.
In fact, improving people’s lives and contributing to society in creating sustainable jobs is the ultimate goal of all the research being conducted in Ireland’s third level colleges.
There were more than 1,500 collaborations between Irish enterprise and universities
Researchers in our higher education institutions (HEIs), including more than 10,000 PhD candidates, work on exciting projects from cutting-edge medical devices to quantum computing initiatives.
This research activity is focused on new innovation and improving products, services and outcomes across healthcare, mobility, agriculture, food, sustainability and much more.
Not only that, but when researchers create spin-out businesses to commercialise their work, they end up creating jobs and developing businesses that operate out of Ireland and serve the world.
Global Irish success stories that started this way include InfiniLED, SoapBox Labs, Output Sports, Iona Technologies and many more.
This is why Ireland invests close to €1bn annually in HEI research and innovation under ‘Impact 2030’, Ireland’s research and innovation strategy.
And it’s why Enterprise Ireland launched the KT Boost programme last week – to bring firepower to Ireland’s research system and maximise the economic and social impact from the investment.
Designed to make the most of high performance research at university level, KT Boost will run over four years. Worth €33.4m, it will support innovation and technology transfer offices in HEIs to help them to drive research commercialisation and bring more Irish ingenuity to the world.
Launched by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, KT Boost will deliver the resources needed to unlock the commercial potential of deep research in a speedy and appropriate way.
In 2022 there were more than 1,500 collaborative engagements between Irish enterprise and universities. This investment will also help to make sure existing industry engages with the research being done in at third level.
Source: The Independent