Trinity-led ADAPT and CONNECT SFI Research Centres among five receiving €193 million investment
Posted on: 01 February 2021
Five Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centres – including ADAPT and CONNECT, which are led by Trinity College Dublin – have received a total investment of €193 million from SFI to build on their successes and continue to grow Ireland’s research infrastructure.
In addition to ADAPT, the SFI Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology and CONNECT, the SFI Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications, the other Centres receiving this second phase of funding are: CÚRAM, the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices led by NUI Galway; iCRAG, the SFI Research Centre in Applied Geosciences led by University College Dublin; Lero, the SFI Research Centre for Software, led by University of Limerick.
The funding announcement was made today by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris. A total of 17 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country partner in the Centres.
The investment, which will support approximately 1,060 graduate and Post-Doctoral students and Research Fellows employed by the Centres, is further backed by significant industry support from 200 industry partners that are committing over €91 million in cash and in-kind contributions.
Welcoming the announcement, Dr Patrick Prendergast, Provost, Trinity, said:
“We are delighted that the Trinity-led ADAPT and CONNECT Centres are among those to have secured significant second-phase funding to build on their many initial successes.
“Trinity’s researchers, many of whom conduct research in these Centres or collaborate closely with others who do, have made significant societal and economic contributions by fostering links between research, government and industry partners through their work. They have also developed the foundations for future excellence by training many talented PhD and Post-Doctoral students to be future difference-makers. Collectively they have helped to make Trinity – and Ireland – a world-leader in research and innovation.”
ADAPT has been awarded €42 million to extend its next phase of research over the next six years. ADAPT’s research vision is to pioneer new forms of AI-driven Digital Content Technology to empower individuals and communities in their work and everyday lives.
Since launching, ADAPT’s researchers have signed 43 collaborative research projects, 52 licence agreements and oversee 16 active commercialisation funds and 52 commercialisation awards.
They have won 40 competitive EU research projects and obtained €18.5 million in non-exchequer, non-commercial funding. Additionally, six spinout companies have been formed. ADAPT’s researchers have produced over 1,500 journal and conference publications. Nearly 100 PhD students have been trained.
CONNECT has been awarded approximately €39 million to extend its next phase of research over the next six years. CONNECT’s mission is to research and develop innovative solutions for the communications challenges facing society today.
Since launching, CONNECT’s researchers have signed 75 collaborative research projects with 44 companies from 9 countries, who have invested €14.24 million in the Centre (€6.39 million cash and €7.85 million in-kind). A further €23.5 million has been won in non-exchequer, non-commercial awards, primarily via the EU’s Horizon 2020 competition. Five spinout companies have been formed. The Centre’s researchers have filed 52 patents, 37 license agreements and made 158 Invention Disclosures.
CONNECT researchers have won €4 million in competitive funding from Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund Programme, and a further €3.5 million from Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Partnership Programme. CONNECT researchers are participating in 3 Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) projects with funding of nearly €7 million.
CONNECT’s researchers have produced over 1,500 journal and conference publications. Over 140 PhD and MSc students have been trained.