Sustaining research

Pro

At a recent conference in Dublin, IBEC and the Irish Universities Association (IUA) discussed a plan to increase the number of research scientists and engineers coming on stream in Ireland over the next seven years arising from the Government’s Science Technology and Innovation strategic plan. The groups called on industry and the universities to work together to handle the influx of research students and graduates to ensure both education places and jobs in industry.

The Government aims to double the number of science and engineering PhDs working in Ireland and to raise PhD numbers from 450 to 900 per annum.

Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, president of IUA said “the availability of skilled researchers is a key component of the knowledge economy. The onus is equally on government, industry and academia to ensure that Ireland can employ these skilled personnel on graduation. We must not have a situation where PhDs fail to find a suitable job, or where students choose not to embark on a PhD due to the lack of robust career opportunities.” IBEC director general, Turlough O’Sullivan, said “Skilled people are the differentiating factor between competing economies. Business decisions on the location of global R&D activities are determined by the calibre of researchers and the quality of their output.”

For the year 2003, research and development investment in Ireland reached €1 billion. The trend seems set to continue, as IBM, HP, Bell Labs, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squib have indicated multi-million euro spends in research and development.

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