MCI proposal to expand Maritime Research and Training in Cork
Wednesday 13 February 2008
The vision for a Maritime Campus of Ireland (MCI) is to promote Ireland as a world class maritime research and development location, through the provision of a National Maritime Campus based in Ringaskiddy to achieve a competitive and sustainable maritime sector.The MCI would build on the already significant investment in maritime research and training in Cork, including the €50+ million development of the National Maritime College of Ireland and €15.6 million in research awards to UCC from the prestigious Beaufort and Griffith programmes in 2007.
The MCI also brings together a critical mass of expertise from UCC with the NMCI, including the Cork Institute of Technology and the Irish Naval Service. Strategic links will be made to other third level institutions, statutory and commercial organisations to foster knowledge transfer. For example, opportunities for partnership are being explored with Transas Ltd, a global provider of navigation systems with its HQ in Cork Harbour.
The aim is to provide a new focus on the economic dimension of the maritime domain, and in doing so to complement existing national capacity in marine sciences including areas such as fisheries ecology and oceanographic modelling covered by the Marine Institute. Renewable ocean energy is one of the initial niche areas to be included. The national Ocean Energy Programme seeks to deliver world class solutions to the emerging ocean energy market. The MCI partners are committed to positioning Cork at the hub of national and international ocean energy R&D activities.
The relocation of UCC’s Hydraulic and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC) to a premier new ocean energy research facility in Ringaskiddy forms part of this process. Ringaskiddy will provide a natural focal point for the MCI as it already hosts the NMCI, the Irish Naval Service and UCC’s Coastal and Marine Resources Centre.
Other niche areas will include the maritime security, maritime technology, maritime transport and marine food sectors. The development of a maritime innovation centre providing support for incubation companies involved in the development of related software, engineering and IT products and services is being explored with Enterprise Ireland.