Tyndall National Institute’s newly published Annual Report highlights that Tyndall is leading the way in this competitive €80 billion European programme
Simon Harris TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has announced that Tyndall National Institute (Tyndall) has succeeded in securing more than 100 Horizon 2020* awards totalling over €56M in funding, making it one of the most successful institutes in Ireland for European funding. The announcement was made during the launch of the Tyndall 2019 Annual Report.
making it one of the most successful institutes in Ireland for European funding.
The announcement was made by Minister Simon Harris during the launch of the Tyndall 2019 Annual Report.
The report announced that in 2019 alone, 17 new projects were funded by H2020 to the value of €10m, a success rate that is three times higher than the European average. It has been assessed that for every €1 of EU funding channelled through the research framework programme approximately €11 is generated in direct and indirect economic effects through innovations, new technologies and products.
Tyndall has secured over €57m to date in direct funding from EU Programmes such as Horizon 2020 and ERDF (European Regional Development Funds). Irish-based partners in Tyndall projects have also secured an additional €51m direct funding. As such, TNI is contributing a very significant share of Ireland’s overall draw-down from Horizon 2020. Tyndall’s own drawdown and of its linked Irish partners accounts for 10% of the €1.039bn to Ireland to date. Tyndall consistently ranks in the top performers in the EU for Information Communication Technology (ICT) research funding.
Projects funded in 2019 ranged from making new deep-tech discoveries and developing next generation innovations, to training early career talent, providing expertise and access to infrastructure to SMEs, and addressing global challenges in health, agri-food, the environment, and energy.
In the 2019 Annual Report, Tyndall reported income of €42m, up 17% on 2018, including €32m from competitive research projects. This also included €10M in European funding and an industry commitment to new research programmes of almost €6M.
Other key developments in the 2019 Annual Report include:
- A continued strengthening of partnerships between researchers and international industry, including Intel and Seagate, for critical knowledge transfer activities.
- Tyndall achieved significant industrial impact through the deployment of platform technologies such as integrated magnetics, as demonstrated through the awarding of a joint patent with Apple Inc.
- SMEs accounted for 49% of all industry programmes during the year, and indigenous SMEs now account for one-third of all industry researchers-in-residence at Tyndall.
- The launch of high-potential spin-out Varadis*
- Tyndall supported 143 PhD and Master’s students.
- A new ambitious strategic plan ‘Tyndall 2025’ was developed, with the objective of doubling the size of the institute double in size to become a significant player on the international research stage and secure a global leadership position for Ireland in deep-tech research.
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Commenting on the Annual Report and the H2020 funding, Minister Harris said,
“Horizon 2020 is a highly competitive programme with excellence at its core, and achieving the milestone of 100 funded projects by Tyndall to date demonstrates the high calibre and quality of Irish research.
“This success cements Tyndall as one of Europe’s leading institutes in the area of ‘deep-tech’, the use of advanced technology that will have a profound effect on the lives of citizens, as well as industry through robotics, engineering, smart industry and medical devices.
“Industry-academia collaboration is the driver for the successful translation of research from the laboratory into innovative new products and services in the marketplace, ultimately leading to the creation and retention of high-quality sustainable jobs.
“The ground-breaking work delivered by the Institute will transform our high-tech economy and secure Ireland’s future as a worldwide technology leader, whilst supporting key Irish technology companies and SMEs.”
CEO of Tyndall National Institute, Prof. William Scanlon, said “2019 was another phenomenally successful year for the Institute, building on our position as a leading centre of scale in translational research while continuing to further the development of deep-tech innovation in Ireland.
“Our success rate in securing H2020 funding is over three times the European average, and 2019 brought in over €10m alone. Tyndall is also the main Irish beneficiary in EU ICT funding as well as the principal contributor to UCC’s position in the top five ICT-funded universities Europe-wide.”
Tyndall is behind some of Ireland’s most advanced research, particularly in electronics and photonics – the science of light generation and manipulation.
Prof. Scanlon, added “For our research to be relevant we need to actively transfer it to industry. We support businesses through access to the very best research talent, and we help to promote and commercialise research. In 2019, we continued to strengthen critical knowledge transfer activities with partners across the globe, including Intel and Seagate.
“Our Tyndall 2025 goal is to be the international research partner of choice and to build on Tyndall’s 40 years of research excellence and industrial impact and to significantly scale to address societal challenges through deep-tech innovation.”
Under the H2020 programme, Tyndall has driven forward the research and development of key enabling technologies across micro- and nano-electronics and photonics, advanced materials and nanotechnologies, life-sciences, and artificial intelligence. These translate into smart products and digital solutions for the manufacturing industry, medical technologies, agricultural processes, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
Dr. Giorgios Fagas, Head of EU Programmes at Tyndall, said, “The Irish economy has ultimately been the major beneficiary of these funds. Over €51m of this has gone to our Irish partners, including 23 SMEs and 15 multi-nationals. Over 100 high value jobs have been created through these Horizon 2020 projects in Ireland. ”
The full Annual Report is available for download here.
About Tyndall National Institute
A research flagship of University College Cork, Tyndall is a leading European research centre in integrated ICT (Information and Communications Technology) materials, devices and systems. Tyndall is Ireland’s largest Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) specialising in both electronics and photonics. Tyndall works with industry and academia to transform research into products in its core market areas of electronics, communications, energy, health, agri-tech and the environment. With a network of over 200 industry partners and customers worldwide, they are focused on delivering human and economic impact from excellence in research. Tyndall is home to a research community of 600 people of 52 nationalities.
About Horizon 2020
Horizon H2020 is the EU funding programme for research and innovation, distributing its €80bn budget over seven years. Running since 2014, the programme is scheduled to end this year. To date, Ireland has won over €1bn in H2020 funding. €56.1M of this has been won by Tyndall National Institute.
About Varadis Spin Out
Varadis, although only formed in 2019, is already on a path to early customer acquisition and scale. The company, led by CEO Brad Wrigley, and supported by Tyndall’s radiation sensors (RADFETs) research team, was launched with the aim of maximising the impact of the Institute’s radiation technology research. The new spin-out is riding the wave of investment in private and public space exploration markets. In other global markets for radiation measurement devices, RADFETs can measure the amount of radiation that a tumour has absorbed in radiotherapy sessions, as well as having important applications in industrial power, disaster recovery, worker safety and wearables. Varadis spun out with the benefit of an exclusive technology licence, access to the research talent of the RADFETs team and the advanced fabrication infrastructure at Tyndall. This ongoing access to Tyndall’s world-class infrastructure, and the future support of UCC’s Innovation and partner agencies in Enterprise Ireland and the European Space Agency, gives Varadis the ability to scale quickly and deliver high-impact return for all stakeholders.
For further information please contact:
Ursula Morrish
Marketing and Communications Manager
Tyndall National Institute
University College Cork, Lee Maltings, Dyke Parade, Cork, Ireland. T12 R5CP
t +353 21 234 6463
m +353 85 2372189