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Top-class science in Ireland helping to engineer economic rejuvenation - Sherlock

The Government’s science agency, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), funded through the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI), last year facilitated a dramatic 44% increase in collaborations between SFI funded scientists and Ireland’s enterprise sector whose competitiveness is increasingly determined by a capacity to innovate.

A further impressive 12% rise in international academic partnerships was also achieved to leverage significant additional scientific knowledge from SFI-funded research. The findings were published in the agency’s annual report for 2010, released today.

Launching SFI’s Annual Report for 2010 the Minister for Research and Innovation at DJEI, Mr. Seán Sherlock T.D., said “Such a massive increase in the total number of collaborations, now standing at 867 and up from 601 in 2009, is certainly to be lauded and is in keeping with the Government’s agenda to facilitate greater commercialisation of research.”

Minister Sherlock added: “The very impressive increases in SFI funded collaborations, whether via multinational corporations (up 32% to a total of 237) or the SME sector (up 63% to 245) shows that forging relationships with critical sectors is being prioritised by our academic community in unison with enterprise. This is where science needs to be in the context of helping to engineer economic rejuvenation in Ireland over the coming years.”

Minister Sherlock commented further by saying: “SFI’s reach is now truly global given that its funded researchers last year engaged in 1,700 international academic collaborations spanning 58 countries. This is clear evidence that Ireland is extending its scientific reach and influence and these connections are playing a key role in rebuilding Ireland’s international reputation.”

He concluded by saying “I am confident that with Dublin set to host the European City of Science in 2012, we will enhance our partnerships with overseas scientific counterparts even further next year.”

Chairperson of SFI, Professor Pat Fottrell, said “The day-to-day work of SFI-funded researchers is intrinsically linked to strategic sectors of our economy, from agri-food and energy to medical technologies and telecommunications. We are now building on Ireland’s top 20 position in the global rankings for the quality of scientific research with breakthroughs in areas ranging from semi-conductor design to optimising energy use in data centres and through these breakthroughs we will drive enterprise competitiveness.”

According to Director-General of SFI, John Travers, “SFI’s focus continues to be the establishment of Ireland as a location renowned for the excellence of scientific research. The challenging economic environment which has continued through 2010 and into 2011 has deterred neither industry nor the researchers that SFI funds in order to support the further development of the knowledge economy, in their combined quest of achieving research excellence and realising commercial potential. In tandem with this alliance of highly-skilled individuals and groups, SFI continues to working closely with Government to help deliver innovation, efficiencies and value for money on a sustained basis.”

SFI funded researchers are connected to 534 distinct companies that employ over 82,000 people at present in Ireland. The SFI effort significantly underpins the Government’s broader enterprise/innovation agenda with SFI working closely in assisting IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and other state agencies.

Further details of SFI’s 2010 activity are featured in the Chairman and Director General Statements in SFI’s Annual Report 2010. An overview of research activity is also published in the Census 2010, available to download from

www.sfi.ie