MediaLab replacement will be smaller

The Government proposes to establish a digital media research centre in Dublin to replace the now defunct MediaLab Europe project.

The proposed National Digital Media Centre will receive €3 million in public funding for the first five years, with the possibility of renewal after that.

However, it will be a much smaller entity - about 20,000 sq ft (1,858 sq m) - compared to Media Lab Europe, which was based in a 50,000 sq ft building in the heart of the Digital Hub.

The outline of a tender published by the Government this week shows that the objectives of the centre are to:

• support enterprise development;

• stimulate increased R&D investment;

• support high-quality human capital formation; and

• attract high-quality inward investment.

It should provide a forum for international exchange and discussion and embrace trends in technology such as wireless, broadband and the internet, the document says.

Proposals are invited from higher-education institutions, public research institutions, private-sector entities or consortiums which have a strategic focus on digital media research.

The research centre will only be part-funded by the Government, with the remainder coming from other public and private sources.

Potential bidders for the project have been asked to submit expressions of interest to the Higher Education Authority by the end of May.

MediaLab Europe, a partnership between the Government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, collapsed in January.