[29.06.2007 first posted on silicon republic]
As a result of a €50m expansion programme, 170 further research positions will be created in the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland’s largest information and communications technology (ICT) research centre.

The €50m will also be used to extended the existing Cork grounds to 170,000 square feet with new laboratories and older buildings will also be upgraded as part of the programme. The grounds will be used to carry out leading-edge ICT research as well as acting as incubation space for start-up companies. The institute, established in 2004, already has 330 researchers of whom almost 100 are PhD students. The addition of 170 new openings is aimed to push the institute to the forefront of hardware and networking research in Ireland. “This expansion will confirm Tyndall as a world-class research facility,” said Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. “The new investment programme will allow the institute to significantly increase its researcher numbers to 500 within the next four years, at which point (2011) Tyndall will be generating over €40m of research income annually.” The institute unites researchers from University College Cork, the Cork Institute of Technology and the National Microelectronics Research Centre, as well as carrying out collaborative research with multinational ICT companies like Intel, Hewlett Packard and Analog Devices. “This expansion will ensure that Ireland continues to offer top-class research facilities and graduates to companies which are pushing the boundaries in many areas of science,” said Martin. By Marie Boran