Ireland has been diligently – and with significant success – building its “knowledge economy” since the early 2000s. Our culture of innovation is one born of collaboration, with industry, academia and government bodies working together to propel Ireland’s success on the global research stage.
From digital content technology to dairy product innovation, advanced manufacturing, the bioeconomy, pharmaceutical development and much else besides, the benefits for Ireland Inc of this enviable expertise are manifold, but all collaborators say it is a mutually beneficial scenario.
Beatrice Colombo, site lead at Pfizer Ringaskiddy, says multi-stakeholder collaboration is critical for achieving success in innovation and research.
“In the life sciences, we need to combine the breadth of expertise, resources and perspectives in order to make breakthroughs,” she says. “Ireland’s vibrant network of research centres has positioned the country as a global leader in advanced manufacturing and innovative science.”
Pfizer is active in a number of collaborations in Ireland with various academic institutions, as well as the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), Research Ireland and the SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals (SSPC), with a strong focus on talent development, innovation, and strategic research alignment, Colombo explains. These collaborations provide fertile ground for innovation.
“I am extremely proud of the work we do with Research Ireland to deliver multi-stakeholder collaboration that accelerates innovation by empowering both academia and industry to co-shape research direction while drawing on academic depth, industry-relevant focus areas, and subject matter expertise in process and scale-up,” says Colombo.
She also notes that this model serves as a “strategic talent pipeline”, with PhD students working in university labs and mentored by both academic leads and Pfizer scientists. This not only builds technical capability but also strengthens Pfizer’s employer brand within Ireland’s Stem ecosystem, she says.
The collaboration between Research Ireland and Pfizer is not merely transactional, Colombo stresses; rather, it is a strategic partnership that exemplifies the power of cross-sector innovation.
“Together, both partners co-create research agendas that are both scientifically rigorous and commercially relevant,” she says. “This synergy not only accelerates impactful innovation but also strengthens Ireland’s global competitiveness in biopharma.”
Colombo points out that Ireland offers a diverse range of funding and support mechanisms for collaborative research, which she sees as a significant strength: “This allows flexibility to accommodate a wide variety of research needs and partnerships.”
Juan Bernabe Moreno, director of IBM Research Europe for the UK and Ireland, says that when solving complex problems in science and industry it is essential to bring together stakeholders with diverse perspectives, expertise and skill sets.
“For IBM, engaging with academia, industry and government in this unique dynamic research ecosystem allows us to accelerate discovery, de-risks experimentation and delivers meaningful impact at scale,” he says. “IBM Research, in its 11 years of existence in Ireland, has been engaging in a broad spectrum of collaborations spanning AI, quantum computing and hybrid cloud – all designed to advance both foundational science and practical applications in domains such as healthcare, climate and sustainability, and financial services.”
Ireland has proven itself the ideal location for such collaboration, Bernabe Moreno notes, and IBM is working with many of Ireland’s leading academic institutions, including Trinity College Dublin (TCD), University College Dublin (UCD), and University College Cork. “Their people are contributing deep expertise in generative AI, trustworthy and ethical AI, many-body physics, high-energy physics, etc,” he says.
Like Pfizer, IBM views its collaborations as being a crucial element of its long-term commitment to talent and research development. One example is the IBM Pre-Doctoral Programme with TCD, UCD, and Dublin City University, supported by IDA Ireland. “This programme enables joint supervision of PhD students employed by IBM, working on projects aligned with both industrial relevance and academic depth,” says Bernabe Moreno.
In parallel, Ireland hosts a vibrant industrial ecosystem across technology, financial services and biopharmaceuticals, which helps bring real-world challenges and domain insights. “The IDA has proven to play a critical role creating the connections and enabling the right vehicles for collaboration within this ecosystem,” says Bernabe Moreno.
Michaela Blott is a senior fellow with the AMD research and advanced development group, which has developed specific programmes to support such collaborations. AMD actively collaborates with research institutions including TCD, UCD, and Queen’s University Belfast, providing advanced computational resources to the institutions.
“Through these initiatives, researchers can access high-performance computing capabilities that enable them to address previously intractable problems,” she says.
These collaborative frameworks accelerate innovation by removing technological barriers and allowing researchers to focus on solving significant societal challenges rather than being limited by computational constraints, Blott adds.
When industry supplies resources and expertise, such as AMD’s advanced technologies and computing capabilities, that many academic institutions would otherwise be unable to access, Blott points out that the institutions can concentrate on conducting ambitious research that may eventually result in commercial applications.
“Together, these collaborations create a knowledge multiplier effect that amplifies the impact of research investments and generates shared value beyond what either partner could achieve independently,” she says.
Research Ireland provides crucial environments that connect academic expertise with industry needs while supporting the training of the next generation in required fields, Blott adds.
Ireland’s stellar global reputation notwithstanding, could the ecosystem be enhanced further to make us an even more attractive location for multinational companies to base their research efforts?
“As with many other countries, Ireland has areas for improvement, particularly in terms of academic funding and access to high performance computing resources,” says Blott. “However, the country exhibits significant potential and promise in fostering innovation and research in these important and evolving fields.”
