Eircom will invest €5 million (£3.94 million) over three years with MediaLabEurope (MLE), the European replica of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Medialab, which is to be located in Dublin.
The sponsorship deal, announced yesterday, is the first corporate research investment in the centre, which is expected to attract some £130 million in funding over 10 years. Some £28 million of this funding will come from the Government.
During the three-year programme, Eircom will have access to research and the associated intellectual property rights that emerge from both MediaLabEurope and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Six MIT-MediaLab graduate students will be named "Eircom Fellows".
Ms Glorianna Davenport, director of MLE, said the first tranche of funding would enable MediaLab to get started on several projects.
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