Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD and Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, today announced an investment of over €100 million in six new SFI Centres for Research Training.
The SFI Centres for Research Training programme, the first postgraduate training programme 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 Centres are now open for recruitment and postgraduate students across the country are encouraged to apply for this innovative programme which aims to build on research excellence in Ireland.
The SFI Centres for Research Training will generate strong collaborations between research and industry. 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 (MU), University of Limerick (UL), NUI Galway (NUIG), Tyndall National Institute (TNI) and Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI).
Commenting on the project, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, Professor Mark Ferguson said, "I am very pleased to announce the six new SFI Centres for Research Training .The level of investment in this programme is significant, 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.
He added, "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."
The six SFI Centres for Research Training are:
SFI Centre for Research Training in Machine Learning
Dr Brian McNamee (UCD), Dr Georgiana Ifrim (UCD), Prof Sarah Jane Delany (TU Dublin), Prof Noel O’Connor (DCU)
SFI Centre for Research Training in Digitally Enhanced Reality
Prof Carol O’Sullivan (TCD), Prof Vincent Wade (TCD), Prof John Kelleher (TU Dublin), Prof Alan Smeaton (DCU), Prof Peter Corcoran (NUIG), Prof Julie Berndsen (UCD)
SFI Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies
Prof Dirk Pesch (UCC), Prof John Barrett (CIT), Dr Deirdre Desmond (MU) Prof Siobhán Clarke (TCD), Prof Max Ammann (TU Dublin), Prof Cormac Sreenan (UCC)
SFI Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science
Prof James Gleeson (UL), Dr Claire Gormley (UCD), Prof Ken Duffy (MU)
SFI Centre for Research Training in Artificial Intelligence
Prof Barry O’Sullivan (UCC), Prof Tiziana Margaria (UL), Dr Ivana Dusparic (TCD), Dr Derek Bridge (UCC), Dr Suzanne Little (DCU), Dr Paul Buitelaar (NUIG)
SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science
Prof Cathal Seoighe (NUIG), Dr Eva Szegezdi (NUIG), Prof Denis Shields (UCD), Prof Gianpiero Cavalleri (RCSI), Prof Pavel Baranov (UCC), Prof Aoife McLysaght (TCD)
Source: www.businessworld.ie
