Pictured at the launch of the UCD-TCD innovation alliance (l-r): Batt O'Keefe TD, Minister for Education and Science; Dr Hugh Brady, UCD President; An Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen T.D.; Dr. John Hegarty, TCD Provost; An Tánaiste, Ms Mary Coughlan T.D., Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment
Ireland’s two top universities, UCD and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) have jointly unveiled a visionary job creation plan as part of the national recovery initiative built around the Smart Economy in the presence of An Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen TD.
The TCD / UCD Innovation Alliance is a radical partnership which will work with the education sector, the State and its agencies, and the business and venture capital communities to develop a world-class ecosystem for innovation that will drive enterprise development and the creation of sustainable high value jobs. The joint effort aims to create up to 300 companies and thousands of jobs in ten years.
TCD Provost Dr John Hegarty and UCD President Dr Hugh Brady said “this is a time of national crisis. Evidence shows that during recession, innovation thrives. New realities bring with them new opportunities. The Government’s Smart Economy Framework (pdf) pinpointed the ingenuity of our people as the way forward for the country. In that context, as institutions with a relevant responsibility, we felt impelled to act and set out how we could advance the nurturing of that ingenuity”.
The Innovation Alliance has two major components:
The international experience of success elsewhere in aligning education, research and enterprise for job creation – as demonstrated in the examples of Silicon Valley and MIT in the US, and in Finland and Sweden in the 1990s – was an important driver for the Alliance.
The two institutions also welcomed the Taoiseach’s initiative to establish an Innovation Task Force to develop the policy, legislative and infrastructural elements required to enable and support the establishment of the innovation ecosystem to internationally competitive standards.
Dr Brady and Dr Hegarty said: “The creation of lasting jobs is the only solution for the country. We want to boost the university contribution to enterprise development by equipping graduates with the skills and ambition to be job creators rather than job seekers.”
Related links
