Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Mary Coughlan T.D. today (10th March 2010), provided a welcome €56m boost to companies determined to succeed and grow in the Smart Economy.   Conceived by her Department as part of the Government's Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Competence Centres are being delivered jointly by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. Clusters of companies will work together to overcome common research challenges and drive opportunities for innovation, growth and jobs. Download Competence Centre Press Release (pdf 45K).

Click here to view video presentations of the first 5 Competence Centres to be established 

Competence Centres are collaborative entities established and led by industry that are resourced by highly-qualified researchers associated with research institutions who are empowered to undertake market focussed strategic R&D for the benefit of industry.

The objective of the Competence Centre initiative is to achieve competitive advantage for industry in Ireland by accessing the innovative capacity of the research community.

Call for Expressions of Interest from Research Performing Organisations

As part of the initial research phase, projects in the specific thematic area of E-Learning will be supported.
Research performing organisations are invited to submit proposals addressing the needs of companies in this area.
The deadline for applications was Friday 12th March 2010.

Related calls for submissions / expressions of interest

The call for submissions from research performing organisations in the Republic of Ireland to host a competence centre is now closed. Click here to access details

Related press releases:

Tanaiste announces initial 7 research initiatives to get funding through the Competence Centre programme - 11th May 2009 Click here to read more (PDF 21KB)

Martin Hussey, Competence Centres Programme Manager, Enterprise Ireland Tel: +353 (0)1 7272571