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Services & Supports
Communications Office
Press Release
MR NOEL DEMPSEY TD, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND SCIENCE, OPENS NEW €16 MILLION BIOSCIENCES AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING FACILITY AT NUI MAYNOOTH
31st January 2003
A new €16 million Biosciences and Electronic Engineering Facility was officially opened today, Friday 31 January 2003 at NUI Maynooth, by the Minister for Education & Science Mr Noel Dempsey TD. This new facility will provide a dedicated building for the Institutes of Immunology and of Bioengineering & Agroecology, established with support under the Government’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions. The development also incorporates a new facility for the Department of Electronic Engineering, funded under the Government’s Skills Needs Initiative.
Speaking at the event, the Minister welcomed this investment in two fields of education and research that are critical to economic growth. He highlighted the importance which the Government places on educating and producing graduates in both the science and engineering sectors and in particular he emphasised the absolute priority which must be placed on promoting a dynamic, world-class research infrastructure in Ireland. “Investment in education and research represents an investment in the human capital which forms the bedrock for economic growth, continued prosperity and higher living standards”, he said. “Ireland is internationally recognised both for the quality of its education infrastructure and its graduates and for its outstanding research capability across many sectors. This reputation has succeeded in establishing the country as one of the world’s leading centres for international investment, underpinning the rapid economic growth of the past decade. These new teaching and research facilities at NUI Maynooth represent an important addition to this core infrastructure, and to consolidating Ireland’s reputation as a centre of recognised excellence in research and education”, he added.
The two research institutes in the Biosciences – The Institute of Bioengineering and Agroecology (IBA) and the Institute of Immunology (IFI) have underpinned their core funding under PRTLI by attracting a broad range of support from other sources. Under the directorship of Professor Martin Downes (IBA) and Dr Bernard Mahon (IFI) the Institutes have assembled teams of internationally recognised staff which bring together researchers with expertise in key technologies and research themes identified in the Technology Foresight Report. The research themes involve environmental assessment, the agri-food industry, genetic and breeding technologies, disease control, apoptosis, immunotherapy and therapeutic antibodies, while the key technologies to be applied include transgenics/knockouts and drug delivery.
The establishment of a new Department of Electronic Engineering was one of the NUI Maynooth’s responses to the Report of the National Expert Group on Skills Needs, and Professor John Ringwood has assembled a team of highly talented academics and researchers in electronic engineering. The Department accepted its first intake of undergraduate students in September 2000, and graduated its first two students, both of whom received their doctorates in November 2002. The new state-of-the art €5.9m facility provides students with a set of educational programmes in Electronic, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering relevant to local and national industrial needs, utilising the latest in educational technology and teaching techniques.
Also speaking at the event, the President of NUI Maynooth, Dr W.J. Smyth, congratulated all those involved with the project when he outlined its main features. “The building is 5,128 sq. metres in extent, and it will accommodate some 165 researchers in Biosciences, specifically in the areas of Immunology and Bioengineering &Agroecology (3,193 sq.m.), together with creating space for 300 students in the Department of Electronic Engineering (1,935 sq.m.)”, he said. “The building was designed by architects Moloney, O’Beirne, and the remaining members of the design team included Varming Mulcahy Reilly Associates (Mechanical and Electrical Engineer), Michael Punch & Partners (Structural Engineer) and Brendan Merry and Partners (Quantity Surveyor). The main contractor for the project was Bennett Construction Ltd and the main services contractors were H.A. O’Neill Ltd and Suir Electrical Ltd.
Dr Smyth highlighted the commitment of NUI Maynooth to continuing to develop the University as a major resource to its immediate locality, the wider region in which it is located, and the country. “The role that universities can and must play in furthering the educational, economic, social and cultural wellbeing of the country and its inhabitants has extended far beyond traditional concepts which saw them primarily as teaching and learning institutions”, he said. “Universities today represent a major source of knowledge, innovation and research expertise for both the public and private sectors and the wider public community and NUI Maynooth is today confirming its commitment to play its part in this dynamic process”, he added.
Issued by: Communications Office, NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Co Kildare. Contact: Lisa McVann/Michelle Houlden, Tel: 01-708 6160 or mobile 086-8542425, Email: communications@nuim.ie
Issued by: Communications Office, NUI Maynooth - Tel: 01/7086160