SETU researchers to play key role in €460 million research investment

South East Technological University (SETU) has welcomed the announcement of a major new national investment in research and innovation, which will see the university contribute to three of Ireland’s newly established Rinn research centres.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, June 11, by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD.

The initiative represents a €460 million investment through Research Ireland and will support world-leading research across seven strategic areas of national importance.

Making the announcement, Minister Lawless said: “The scale and scope of this €460 million investment is a powerful statement of Ireland’s ambition in research and innovation.

"Research Ireland centres have, over the last 13 years, fundamentally reshaped our innovation landscape – turning excellent and innovative research into real-world societal and economic impact."

Minister Lawless said higher education institutions and enterprise collaborators were critical to that success. 

"With these seven new Rinn, we are building on this progress by supporting talent, strengthening industry partnerships, attracting foreign direct investment, advancing indigenous industry growth, promoting regional development, and enabling Ireland to remain internationally competitive," he said.

The new Rinn network will bring together researchers from across Ireland to address some of the most significant challenges and opportunities facing society and industry, including artificial intelligence, advanced therapies, energy, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, quantum technologies, and semiconductors.

Speaking at the announcement, CEO of Research Ireland, Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, said: “The Rinn network is about excellent multidisciplinary research, radical collaboration and deep connectivity at scale across 17 research performing institutions, industry, Government, public sector bodies, and the broader higher education and research system."

He said each Rinn will develop world-class talent, drive enterprise engagement with research, and reinforce Ireland’s international standing.

"A key action in our recently launched strategy is the delivery of an enhanced Research Ireland centres programme that will enable the development of national centres of international scale in areas of key strategic importance," said Mr O'Brien.

"Rinn firmly sets that action in motion," he added.

SETU is a partner institution in three of the newly announced centres: Dr Ray Griffin and Dr Aisling Tuite of Faculty of Business partners in Rinn Artificial Intelligence – Research & Innovation in Data Science and AI; Dr Niall O’Reilly, PMBRC at SETU partners in Rinn Pharma & Biopharma – Research & Innovation in Making Medicines, and Dr Deirdre Kilbane, Walton Institute at SETU partners in Rinn Quantum – Research & Innovation in Quantum Information Science and Technology.

Collectively, the seven centres will support more than 577 research positions, facilitate the development of over 800 PhD research positions and involve 17 research-performing organisations across Ireland.

The initiative is also expected to leverage an additional €500 million in investment from industry and other funding sources, with support from more than 200 industry partners.

Welcoming the announcement, Prof Veronica Campbell, President of SETU, said: “This investment represents a significant vote of confidence in Ireland’s research and innovation ecosystem and in the contribution that technological universities make to national competitiveness and societal progress."

“SETU is proud to be part of three of these major national research centres," said Prof Campbell.

"Through collaboration with academic, industry and public sector partners, our researchers will contribute to advances in areas that are critical to Ireland’s future prosperity, including artificial intelligence, medicines development and quantum technologies," she added.

Prof Marie Claire Van Hout, Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact at SETU, said the development marked a new chapter in Irish collaborative research, commenting: "These centres will strengthen research excellence, create opportunities for postgraduate and early-career researchers, and support deeper engagement with industry partners."

“Participation in these centres reflects the growing strength of SETU’s research community and our commitment to delivering impactful research that addresses regional, national and global challenges," she said.

The seven Rinn centres will commence activities from July this year and will operate as a coordinated national research network over the next eight years.