RT and Waterford IT announce joint funding of research projects

RT and Waterford IT announce joint funding of research projects

2 June 2016: RT and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) have announced a two-year agreement to jointly fund a research project of significance to the Waterford area which will inform both RT s and WITs work in the region.

The announcement of the joint research programme was made following an RT Board meeting held at Carriganore House on WIT's West Campus, which is also the location of the RT South-East Regional studios. WIT's West Campus is home to the NRCI and TSSG research centres and incubation hub, Arclabs.

Commenting on the announcement, Kevin Bakhurst, Acting Director-General, RT said, This announcement represents a further development of our partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology and supports our shared aim of serving the community, following the opening of regional studios on campus two years ago. Research plays an important role in helping RT understand how we can make an even greater positive impact on Irish life and continue to meet the needs of our audiences throughout the country.

RT and WIT will jointly make seed funding available to support research projects of mutual interest and benefit that will directly impact on the development of broadcasting in the region.

These projects may include research on new technologies and their impact on broadcasting, on regional audiences and audience development, and on multi-lingual broadcasting, with a particular focus on the Irish language in the region. The projects will inform RT 's policies on the further enhancement of its regional broadcasting and WIT's own future strategy as an innovative higher education institution.

We are delighted to support these research programmes with our partner RT , said WIT President Prof Willie Donnelly, welcoming the initiative.

The potential exists for the south-east of Ireland to be a leader in the future development of the broadcasting industry and the expertise that exists within WIT in the areas of mobile technology and engineering, information technology, and related areas makes the fit between RT which has great and positive ambitions in this region and WIT a very good one.

WIT representatives met with members of the RT Board to explain some of the important research initiatives being developed at WIT including conference and networking app fuseami, Wizeoni a person-centric data platform for the Internet of Things, Liquid Edge, and Immersive VR Education.

ENDS

Media contact: Elaine Larkin, PR Executive,elarkin@wit.ie 051-845577 (mobile: 087-7438838)

Launch photos will be available from Browne s Photography.

Notes for editors

About the new research programme

The programme will be open to researchers within WIT and will involve collaboration between WIT staff and graduate students and RT staff both in the regional office and nationally. It is anticipated that the first grants will be made available from September.

About WIT

Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is the major provider of higher education in the South East. It is one of the largest IOT s in Ireland, with almost 10,000 students and 900 staff. From the Institute's establishment in 1970, the student community has grown to 8,000 full-time and 1,500 part-time students including 800+ international students from more than 70 countries.

WIT is clustered around five sites in Waterford City & County all within 5km of the city centre. The portfolio of academic programmes at WIT is extensive, ranging from Higher Certificate right through to post-doctoral research and covering the Humanities, Health and Nursing, Science and Informatics, Engineering and Architecture, Business and Education.

WIT is one of the leaders in research in the Institute of Technology (IoT) sector. In the last ten years, the Institute has secured over 140 million in external research funding. The Institute has secured funding from all of the major funding agencies, including SFI, ERC and Enterprise Ireland. At the core of the Institute's research ethos is its commitment to engagement and knowledge exchange with research partners, regional and national stakeholders and industry and WIT has an established record of large scale research collaborations with both indigenous enterprise and multi-nationals.

About ArcLabs

Established almost 10 years ago ArcLabs is well known nationally and internationally for the unique incubation, research and enterprise support framework it provides to entrepreneurs and technology based start-ups. Home to more than 60 companies since its foundation ArcLabs has been a key driver in the development of an ICT/mobile services cluster which has emerged in the region over the last decade.

Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) recently signed a 2.5m contract with Enterprise Ireland which will fund a significant expansion of its incubation facilities in ArcLabs, Waterford. The 1,000m2 extension on its West campus will enable the Institute to double its capacity to support technology start-ups in the South East region.

Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI)

The School of Health Sciences at WIT recently announced the establishment of Nutrition Research Centre Ireland which has 26 members and a projected research budget of 15m over four years.The importance of nutrition to a wide range of human health issues ranging from eyesight,cancer treatment and brain function to mental health, substance misuse and sports performance is to be examined in a new research centre at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

About TSSG

TSSG stands for Telecommunications Software & Systems Group . The TSSG was formed as part of the Waterford Institute of Technology in 1996. TSSG is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for ICT research and innovation. We carry out a wide spectrum of industry-informed res

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