ATU welcomes €70m Ireland-UK funding for two new research centres focusing on sustainability and climate change
Atlantic Technological University (ATU) welcomes the announcement this week (Tuesday 28 November 2023) by Higher Education Minister Simon Harris TD, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan and Permanent Secretary at Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Katrina Godfrey of €70 million in joint funding to establish two new research centres focusing on food sustainability and climate change.
The funding will bring together academics, industry and policymakers across the Irish Government, UK Government and Northern Ireland Government Departments to collaborate on these common challenges.
Dr James Moran, senior lecturer and researcher in Agro Ecology at Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway, who is leading ATU’s involvement, says: “We are looking forward to working with the 14 academic partner research institutions across Britain and Ireland, led by co-directors Professor Yvonne Buckley, Trinity College Dublin, Professor Mark Emmerson, Queen’s University Belfast and Professor Ed Hawkins, University of Reading, to tackle climate, biodiversity and water crises.”
“Responses to the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and water resource management will require solutions and transformative change across society. The Climate+ Co-centre partnership brings together a diverse research community and 29 leading industry partners from across Ireland and Britain to develop transformative solutions. At ATU we look forward to playing an integral part in Climate+, exploring and testing new solutions with our colleagues to enable evidence-based change for a liveable future regionally, nationally and internationally.”
The Co-Centres programme is funded over six years, with up to €40 million from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) (supported by the Department of Further, Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science and the Irish Government’s Shared Island Fund), up to £17 million from Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and up to £12 million through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and is co-funded by industry.
The two new Co-Centres will formally commence activities on 1 January 2024, and will be funded to 2030. Read the Governments’ joint press release: gov.ie - Minister Harris, Secretary of State Donelan and Permanent Secretary Godfrey announce €70 million for research centres (www.gov.ie)
Photo caption:
Dr James Moran, who is leading ATU’s involvement on the Co-Centres programme.
ENDS
Issued by Regina Daly, ATU Communications.
