Ireland has set its sights on a number of sectors where it seeks to achieve a global leadership position. Cleantech, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing are all industries that will influence the next decade of innovation, and the Republic has clear designs on leading in them.
It’s a bold ambition, and competition will be strong, but the State has one obvious advantage: it has been down this road before. Building a world-class cluster is a less intimidating challenge when you’ve already done it, and the Republic’s success in medtech in particular proves its capability. And in these new areas of focus, it is coming from a much stronger starting position than the Ireland of the 1980s and early 1990s.
“It is realistic for Ireland to build a global competitive advantage in these sectors,” says Dr Stephen O’Driscoll, head of research centres at Research Ireland, “provided we continue to leverage and evolve our innovation ecosystem. Unlike in earlier decades, Ireland is now in a fundamentally different position: the foundational components of a thriving innovation ecosystem are already firmly in place.”
Those components include a wealth of large research centres such as Insight, based across multiple third-level institutions, in data analytics and AI; or Tyndall, in UCC, for microelectronics and photonics. Then there’s Adapt, at Trinity College Dublin, focusing on digital-media technologies; Cúram, at University of Galway, for medical devices; and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) in UCD, focusing on biopharma.
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Such centres enable collaboration between industry and academia, with the talent pipeline they create and multinational presence reinforcing one another.
“These centres, many of which are part of the Research Ireland Centres programme, provide critical mass and world-class expertise across a range of advanced technologies,” says O’Driscoll. “Ireland’s strengths are substantial and reflect a rich, interconnected ecosystem.”
Not that it’s all sunshine and roses. There remain barriers that could slow down Ireland’s effort in the race to be a global leader in these fields. Talent shortages are an ongoing issue, particularly as competition ramps up globally.
In order to stay competitive, further investment is needed to develop the State’s infrastructure and research capacity. A co-ordinated effort is vital, according to O’Driscoll.
“Ensuring a steady pipeline of skilled graduates and researchers remains a challenge, especially as global competition for talent intensifies,” he says. “Perhaps most importantly, strong co-ordination between policy, research, and industry is needed to avoid fragmentation and ensure that all parts of the ecosystem are working towards common goals.”
In this regard, the Global Talent Ireland programme is aggressively focused on attracting top researchers and specialists to bring their research here and develop it. Added to this is the Government’s €750 million Inspire programme, focused on upgrading and expanding research infrastructure.
“Global Talent Ireland aims to make Ireland a destination of choice for international talent, while Inspire is focused on providing the physical and digital infrastructure needed for cutting-edge research across disciplines,” says O’Driscoll.
This investment may seem substantial, but O’Driscoll says the knock-on impact could prove even more significant. New research centres can respond to commercial demand and create more demand in the process.
“The creation of new research centres in strategic areas today can have an even greater multiplier effect,” he says.
The only way to ensure this investment works is to keep the different players in the research ecosystem aligned so they are focused on the same core outcomes.
“Strong co-ordination between policy, research and industry is needed to avoid fragmentation and ensure that all parts of the ecosystem are working towards common goals.”
The challenge is daunting, the required investment substantial, and the competition fierce. Moreover, given the nature of research, it may take some time to see if the State has made the right investments. O’Driscoll, however, is confident that a focused strategy can help build world-leading clusters.
“By continuing to invest in these interconnected pillars, talent, research, infrastructure, and policy, while learning from the evolution of our medtech ecosystem, Ireland can realistically aspire to global leadership in the next generation of transformative technologies.”
