Based at NUI Galway, the construction tech centre will join eight other tech centres nationwide run by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.
NUI Galway is to be the base for a planned construction tech centre that will accelerate research and innovation within the construction and built environment sector.
The Government announced today (21 July) that it would pump €5m worth of funding into the establishment of the centre. The funding will be spread out over a five-year period.
Once the centre is up and running, it will involve a consortium of researchers from NUI Galway, as well as Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and University College Cork. The consortium will work closely with the Irish Green Building Council.
The researchers’ work will be organised under five pillars to address the urgent areas of productivity, affordability and cost, quality and safety, sustainability skills and training and collaboration.
Announcing the project, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar said, “This new Construction Technology Centre will make sure we are at the cutting edge of new developments in the sector, making sure Irish companies and the taxpayer are getting the best value for money, while building this important infrastructure in the most modern and efficient way possible.”
Varadkar added that the Government was investing billions in building new infrastructure. The centre would feed into these investment plans, he said. “We’re making sure that a diverse range of academics, skilled craft workers, industry experts and thought leaders feed into the work of the centre, so that when businesses come for advice, they get accurate, up to date information that is informed by a broad range of expertise across the sector.”
Enterprise Ireland worked with professional services giant Ernst & Young to develop the specification for the centre. They engaged with key firms, stakeholders, national and international experts to identify the construction sector’s needs for the future. The new centre aims to focus on residential construction in line with the Government’s housing strategy.
Prof Jamie Goggins and Dr Magdalena Hajdukiewicz, the centre’s NUI Galway leads, said the consortium would “bring together the whole value chain to accelerate people-centric innovation in construction and the built environment that allows industry increase their capacity and competitiveness, while creating a sustainable society and economy.”
The centre will join eight other technology centres around the country. These centres employ a combined total of 320 researchers. They are part of a joint initiative between IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland which has been in operation for the past 12 years. In that time, researchers have worked collaboratively with thousands of companies.
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