A NEW centre, which will see entrepreneurs, academics and start-up companies working side by side, is to be formally opened in Kilkenny today.
The Kilkenny Research and Innovation Centre is based on the ArcLabs structure developed by the Telecommunications Software and Systems Group in Waterford Institute of Technology, which takes academics out of the university and puts them closer to new companies and businesspeople.
“ArcLabs was a move away from traditional structures where research is done in a department in a university and industry is engaged with on an irregular basis,” said Dr Willie Donnelly, director of the group and head of research at WIT.
“By putting everyone in the same space they are likely to build up a relationship with each other and the level of interaction would be on a daily basis.”
The new centre in Kilkenny is a joint initiative between WIT, Institute of Technology Carlow and Invest Kilkenny, and will have access to supports from the various institutes.
According to Dr Donnelly, its focus will be on building a centre of excellence primarily around information and communications technology (ICT) for the financial services and agricultural sectors as these are areas that are most relevant to Kilkenny. “We really needed to find some way we could combine our own expertise with industry activity in Kilkenny.”
The ultimate goal, according to Dr Donnelly, is to create more robust start-ups in the region and ultimately make it more attractive to investors, both indigenous and international.
However, he pointed out that the benefits of such a facility were not just for business as the academics working there would be able to gain a greater appreciation for the industry’s challenges through their work.
He said it should result in a “backward and forward flow” of information and ideas, allowing for a strong variety of research to be undertaken.
According to Joe Crockett, Kilkenny city and county manager, the new facility will be a major step forward for the area as it tries to attract more IT investment.
“This allows Kilkenny to develop as an attractive area for major ICT companies. The number of financial services companies that were already located here shows there’s already a good critical mass to build on.”
