Prof. Michael Kelly, the Prince Philip Professor of Technology at Cambridge University and formerly Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department for Communities and Local Government will deliver a lecture to the Irish Academy of Engineering at 6 p.m. on December 8th next in the Clinton Auditorium at UCD, Belfield. The lecture entitled, Engineering Research & Economic Growth, is open to the public. And it’s certainly a timely topic.
Converting the findings of university research to industrial innovation is a key factor in national industrial development strategies world-wide. The Irish Government is to be applauded for ambitiously funding research in our universities to a total of €1.35 billion over the past 5 years with 85% allocated to the sciences. But the allocation to engineering, at only 8%, has been significantly smaller and at variance with most other European countries, where the wealth-creating potential of applied engineering research is recognised in national innovation and industrial development strategies. Earlier this year the Academy issued a paper advocating that more support should be given to engineering research in our third-level institutions. Prof. Michael Kelly is the second in a series of prestigious speakers, invited to address and develop this crucial topic
Related Documents
- Engineering Research in Irish Economic Development
This paper was prepared by a taskforce organised by the Irish Academy of Engineering. The paper highlights the importance of Engineering Research to the future success of the Irish economy. The paper recommends that the overriding criterion for the Government’s research funding should be the impact of the research on the economy, in the short to medium term. The paper also addresses the need for greater collaboration between universities, research institutes and institutes of technology, through the establishment of Engineering Research Platforms in selected topics of national importance. It emphasises the need for much closer involvement of industry with the School of Engineering.