University College Dublin Researchers in Key Leadership Roles in Four New SFI Centres for Research Training
- Government announces over €100 million in six new SFI Centres for Research Training
- 700 students to be trained in digital, data and ICT skills for the future
The Irish government has announced an investment of over €100 million in six new Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Centres for Research Training. The Centres, the first postgraduate training programme run by SFI, will provide training for 700 postgraduate students and approximately 90 major industry partners will also support the new Centres.
Operating on a thematic basis in terms of skills needs, the SFI Centres for Research Training will focus on the area of ‘Data and ICT Skills for the Future’. This area is highlighted by the Government’s Future Jobs Initiative, which prepares for the future economy by investing in innovative, disruptive technologies.
Five (5) University College Dublin researchers are involved in key leadership roles in four of the Centres.
Dr Brian McNamee, UCD School of Computer Science is leading the SFI Centre for Research Training in Machine Learning with Dr Georgiana Ifrim, UCD School of Computer Science as Co-Director. Professor Sarah Jane Delany (TU Dublin) and Professor Noel O’Connor (DCU) are also Co-Directors on this Centre.
Professor Julie Berndsen, UCD School of Computer Science is co-directing the SFI Centre for Research Training in Digitally Enhanced Reality. Professor Carol O’Sullivan (TCD) is leading this Centre which also includes Professor Vincent Wade (TCD), Professor John Kelleher (TU Dublin), Professor Alan Smeaton (DCU) and Professor Peter Corcoran (NUIG) as Co-Directors.
Associate Professor Claire Gormley, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics is co-directing the SFI Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science. Professor James Gleeson (UL) is leading this Centre and Professor Ken Duffy (MU) is also a co-Director.
Associate Professor Claire Gormley said, “The SFI Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science will provide a world-class environment, training students in applied mathematics, statistics and machine learning, with application areas of national importance, equipping them with the skills needed to be the innovative data scientists of the future.”
Professor Denis Shields, UCD School of Medicine is co-directing the SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science. Professor Cathal Seoighe (NUIG) is leading this Centre which also includes Dr Eva Szegezdi (NUIG), Professor Gianpiero Cavalleri (RCSI), Professor Pavel Baranov (UCC), and Professor Aoife McLysaght (TCD) also as co-Directors.
Pictured (l-r) are Dr Benjamin Cowan, UCD School of Information and Communication Studies (panel supervisor); Professor Julie Berndsen, Dr Georgiana Ifrim and Dr Brian Mac Namee, UCD School of Computer Science; Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General, SFI; Professor Brendan Murphy, Head of School, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics (panel supervisor); Associate Professor Claire Gormley, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics; Professor Denis Shields, UCD School of Medicine; Professor Nial Friel, School of Mathematics and Statistics and Peter Scott, UCD Research.
Heather Humphreys TD, Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation said, “In Project 2040, the Government has set objectives that will ensure a strong economic future for Ireland. Delivering on these will require continued investment in skills and talent in research and development, equipping the champions of this future economy with the tools and expertise necessary to build it.
“The six new SFI Centres for Research Training will bring together the higher education sector and industry to develop and deliver innovative programmes of research and training for postgraduate students in Ireland.
“In line the Government’s new Future Jobs Initiative, which we will launch in the coming days, these programmes will allow students to develop and learn about critical technologies for the future in areas like machine learning, artificial intelligence and more. This is all part of our wider effort to ensure that we are preparing now for tomorrow’s economy.”
“I want to congratulate the teams involved in forming the centres and encourage postgraduate students across the country to apply to them.”
The SFI Centres for Research Training will generate strong collaborations between research and industry. They will involve partnerships across multiple Higher Education Institutions including UCD and Technological University of Dublin, Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, Cork Institute of Technology, University College Cork, Maynooth University, University of Limerick, NUI Galway, Tyndall National Institute and Royal College of Surgeons Ireland.
The other 2 Centres to receive funding are the SFI Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies and the SFI Centre for Research Training in Artificial Intelligence.
Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, 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.”
“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.”
The SFI Centres for Research Training are now open for recruitment, and postgraduate students across the country are encouraged to apply for this innovative programme which will build on research excellence in Ireland.
ENDS
6 March 2019
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: + 353 1 716 3712 or Alva O’Cleirigh, SFI, e: alva.ocleirigh@sfi.ie.
Editors Notes
About SFI Centres for Research Training
Through additional funding allocated to Science Foundation Ireland by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Science Foundation Ireland has developed and implemented a new cohort-based postgraduate research training programme, the SFI Centres for Research Training, to fund enrolment of additional students from 2019 onwards. www.sfi.ie/funding/funding-calls/centres-for-res-training