Dr Orla Flynn, president of GMIT, and Prof Brian Fitzgerald, director of Lero. Image: Aengus McMahon Photography
As GMIT progresses its bid to become a technological university, it is joining Ireland’s ‘internationally renowned’ centre for software research.
Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) research centre for software, is expanding its research capacity with a new academic partner.
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) is joining the industry-focused research centre, which brings together software teams from universities and institutes of technologies across Ireland.
Dr Rick Officer, vice-president of research and innovation at GMIT, said Lero teams have helped make Ireland an “internationally renowned” location for software research, and GMIT can now contribute to this.
“Combining our knowledge of Lero’s strategic priority sectors will extend Lero’s technological developments and better realise social and economic benefits for the people and industries we serve,” he added.
Lero was founded in 2005 with four universities working together on software engineering research.
It is now hosted by the University of Limerick and academic partners include Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Maynooth University, NUI Galway, University College Cork, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Munster Technological University, Waterford Institute of Technology and Limerick Institute of Technology.
Areas of research at the centre include healthcare, gaming and cybersecurity.
“Lero’s mission is to secure and enhance Ireland’s leadership position by fostering the finest researchers, enabling them to do the best work possible,” said Prof Brian Fitzgerald, director of Lero.
“The addition of such a strong team from GMIT to the Lero family gives us greater strength to face fresh challenges in the years ahead.”
The news comes as GMIT is progressing its bid to become a technological university.
As part of the Connacht Ulster Alliance, which also includes Institute of Technology Sligo and Letterkenny Institute of Technology, it recently applied for technological university status. The proposed university would bring together 20,000 students across eight campuses in Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal.
Dr Orla Flynn, president of GMIT, said one of the institute’s ambitions going forward is making a “strong impact in our region through excellent research”.
“It’s heartening to see this recognised and acknowledged through our membership of Lero,” she added.
