Regina Moran, CEO, Fujitsu Ireland, at the Fujitsu innovation gathering in Dublin this morning
Fujitsu Laboratories is set to engage in a series of collaborative Irish research projects over the next three years to test technologies in order to steer the ICT company’s future strategy. Fujitsu Ireland CEO Regina Moran said collaborative R&D has the scope to deliver a seven-fold return on an initial investment.
Moran was speaking at an innovation conference organised by Fujitsu that kicked off in Croke Park in Dublin this morning. Industry strategists and academics are convening at the one-day event to thrash out ideas on ways of maximising R&D collaboration in order to translate research activity into commercial outputs.
Opening the conference, Moran said Fujitsu first chose to undertake an R&D investment programme in Ireland in 2010.
Last August, for instance, Fujitsu Laboratories began a three-year research programme with the web science institute DERI to explore the potential for linked data and the semantic web. In April, the company revealed that this research collaboration could be about to pave the way for an interface that sits on linked data.
Today, Moran said Fujitsu is always looking to maximise the opportunities in key ICT growth areas, such as future internet, big data, cloud computing and sensor technologies.
“I am delighted to announce that Irish researchers have been chosen as Fujitsu’s partners of choice,” she said, adding that collaborative research has been shown to deliver a multiplier effect of up to seven times the return on the initial investment.
Moran said this is achieved by maximising industry-academia knowledge exchange, shared data and job creation.
“With the value of the global ICT market estimated at €4.6trn in 2009 and a current annual growth rate of 5.5pc – the potential industry and Irish economic benefits of tapping into this are enormous,” she said.
The specific Irish projects are still being negotiated, however.
IDA chief executive Barry O’Leary said the announcement would be a welcome boost to Ireland’s existing ICT base.
“It provides further proof that Ireland has not only the technology and research capabilities required for a project of this scale, but also the requisite provision of highly skilled individuals,” he said.
