As many as 70 new jobs are tipped to be created at the Alcatel-Lucent/Bell Labs operation in Dublin as part of a multi-million euro, five-year programme.
]updated below[
The posts will all be technology R&D-focused and the focus of the research will centre on Bell Labs’ Open Innovation structure and will include a focus on Alcatel-Lucent’s ‘Green Touch’ strategy, an initiative aimed at improving communications networks’ energy efficiency.
An official announcement from the company, the Irish Government and IDA Ireland is expected in the next hour.
In 2004, Bell Labs, a subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent unveiled plans to invest €69m in a new research and development (R&D) headquarters focusing on telecoms and supply chain technologies that will be located at Lucent’s facility in Blanchardstown.
The investment included the establishment of a Centre for Telecommunications Value Chain-Driven Research (CTVR) at Trinity College Dublin.
*update*
IDA Ireland has officially announced the expansion of Bell Labs in Ireland with the creation of over 70 jobs over the next five years.
News of the expansion of Bell Labs here in Ireland comes on the back of a visit by Dr. Jeong Kim, president of Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent to the research centre in Blanchardstown, Dublin.
This expansion will see Bell Labs presence in Ireland supporting the recently announced Green Touch Initiative – a group of academic and commercial research institutions from around the world working on innovation in communications network technologies.
“Bell Labs plays a hugely significant part in the Irish research eco-system,” said Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD.
” Its uniquely open approach to innovation and the sharing of ideas will advance technological development and accelerate growth amongst Irish companies, bolstering our long-term economic expansion,” she added.
IDA Ireland’s CEO Barry O’Leary said that Bell Labs, as one of Ireland’s first large R&D collaborative investments has been a tremendous success to date and that its reputation enhances Ireland’s credibility as a location for both multi-party and multi-disciplinary investments.
“Ireland has the talent, enthusiasm and innovative capacity that encourages interconnectivity between all parties involved, which reflects the Irish Government’s Smart Economy Strategy,” he said.
Jeong Kim, president of Bell Labs, spoke of the company’s desire to expand research activities and create innovative technologies here in Ireland as well as contribute to the knowledge economy.
By John Kennedy and Marie Boran
