Andrew Carey
AS the University of Limerick unveiled a roadmap for future growth and development to 2020 in their new Research and Innovation Strategy, included in it are plans to expand the student creativity as the University sets its sights on Hollywood with the introduction of Troy Studios to the region.
At the launch of the strategy this Tuesday, University of Limerick Vice President Dr Mary Shire confirmed that the University have been in talks with the people behind Ardmore Studios before and after the film company secured planning for the 500 job redevelopment of the former Plassey based Dell building.
“This is an exciting time for Research and Innovation at the University of Limerick as we build on firm foundations and a reputation for delivering significant impact for our research partners.”
Dr Shire explained that “Our new strategy focuses on research excellence and leveraging our position as the leader in translational research and partners of choice for industry while extending our global reach.
“We have a good track record for such a young University and with this strategy we are refocusing. Our outlook will be international, our ethos will be excellence with impact and our approach will be innovative.”
Speaking particularly on the pending arrival Troy Studios, Dr Shire said that “We have had discussions with Troy and the Council in Limerick and all the partners here to ensure they chose this location and we will continue those dialogues.
“We have people involved in very creative disciplines and we have people working in digital media”.
Asked if Dr Shire believes that the new film studio offers a real opportunity to the University of Limerick, the UL VP said “we have been trying to attract these types of investment to Ireland for some time and we are delighted that they decided to locate in the Mid West region.
“Delivering graduates to suit that area will be very important for us and we will work closely to meet their expectations and needs”.
Dr Shire confirmed that the University already has graduates that would fit the programme and “we will look to expand on those and build on it”.
Other investments in the city such as Uber, J&J Ethicon expansions into their development centre are all seen as opportunities for the University and its graduates, Dr Shire added.
Employability rates at the University of Limerick are the highest in the country and Dr Mary Shire said that UL is 20 per cent higher in most cases.
“We want to ensure hat our graduates are ready and we build the attributes that we want graduates to have and hitch employers seek. We are going to continue to develop that and we constantly work with companies through our close relationships and understanding as to what employers need and what are the traits they want to see in our graduates.
Dr Shire explained that the University “has recognised strengths in the areas of materials, advanced manufacturing, software, health and applied mathematical sciences. This strategy aims to intensify critical mass in our areas of strength while focusing on investment in people as our research activities continue to evolve through new and emerging areas. The attraction of major R&D centres to Limerick in recent times has been underpinned by the research strengths of UL, this drives vital investment in Ireland and provides a pipeline for our highly skilled graduates“
The new strategy incorporates four goals: Research Excellence, Research Impact, Investing in People and International Reach. Combined, they will drive UL’s reputation as an internationally-recognised research-led institution delivering excellent research with impact.
Key targets for the five year strategy include:
20% increase in the number of doctoral enrolments
100% increase in the number of employment-based and part-time doctoral enrolments
30% increase in the number of publications in top 10 percentile journals
A doubling of income from European funding sources relative to that achieved under FP7
Establish commercialisation and entrepreneurship training for all staff and students and expanded enterprise boot camp activities for second and third level students.
A 25% increase in new spin-out companies and a 20% increase in research income from industry
Research at UL addresses areas of importance to Irish society, such as education, languages, healthcare and social inclusion. It also has significant impact on sectors that are vital to the Irish economy, such as pharmaceuticals, med-tech, software, food communications and energy.
During the launch, junior education minister Damien English TD said, ” the University of Limerick has for long been regarded as a “university of enterprise” in the Irish University landscape, positioning itself close to the needs of the enterprise base in Ireland, and this new Research and Innovation Strategy is seeking to build on that innate capability.
“I am very pleased to see that UL’s “Excellence & Impact 2020″ aligns fully with the Government’s new Innovation 2020 Strategy, launched in December last, and I look forward to UL continuing to play a very important role in the research and innovation ecosystem nationally over this period”.
