€100m investment for SFI Centres for Research Training

700 students to be trained in digital, data and ICT skills

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5 March 2019

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD and Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, have announced an investment of more than €100 million in six new SFI Centres for Research Training.

The Centres for Research Training programme, the first postgraduate training programme to be run by Science Foundation Ireland, will provide training for 700 postgraduate students in areas of nationally and internationally identified future skills needs of digital, data and ICT.

The SFI Centres for Research Training are now open for recruitment, and SFI is encouraging postgraduate students across the country to apply for the programme which it says will build on research excellence in Ireland.

“In Project 2040, the Government has set objectives that will ensure a strong economic future for Ireland. Delivering on these will require continued investment in skills and talent in research and development, equipping the champions of this future economy with the tools and expertise necessary to build it,” said Minister Humphreys.

“The six new SFI Centres for Research Training will bring together the higher education sector and industry to develop and deliver innovative programmes of research and training for postgraduate students in Ireland.

In line the Government’s new Future Jobs initiative, which we will launch in the coming days, these programmes will allow students to develop and learn about critical technologies for the future in areas like machine learning, artificial intelligence and more. This is all part of our wider effort to ensure that we are preparing now for tomorrow’s economy,” she said.

The SFI Centres for Research Training will generate strong collaborations between research and industry, says SFI. They will involve partnerships across multiple Higher Education Institutions including University College Dublin (UCD), Technological University of Dublin (TUD), Dublin City University (DCU), Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), University College Cork (UCC), Maynooth University (NUIM), University of Limerick (UL), NUI Galway (NUIG), Tyndall National Institute (TNI) and Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI).

A number of SFI Research Centres and approximately 90 major industry partners will also support the SFI Centres for Research Training.

The six SFI Centres for Research Training are:

SFI Centre for Research Training in Machine Learning
SFI Centre for Research Training in Digitally Enhanced Reality
SFI Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies
SFI Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science
SFI Centre for Research Training in Artificial Intelligence
SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science

“The level of investment in this programme is significant,” said Prof Mark Ferguson, director general, SFI, and chief scientific adviser to the Irish Government, “and demonstrates SFI’s commitment to ensuring that future generations of Irish PhD students are well trained in the important field of data analytics and its application to business, health, agriculture etc.”

“Teams of excellent researchers in Irish higher education institutions have teamed up with industrial collaborators and international partners to develop outstanding national programmes of research and training in digital, data and ICT skills – the future of both the economy and society .SFI aims for this to be the best programme in the world providing major opportunities for PhD students in Ireland and a rich source of outstanding graduates who will be sought after by employers from both the private and public sectors,” said Prof Ferguson.

For more information on the SFI Centres for Research Training programme, see www.sfi.ie/funding/funding-calls/centres-for-res-training

TechCentral Reporters