- National Digital Research Centre
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The National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) is a private non-profit company located in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 2006[1].
The NDRC concentrates on applied digital technology with a commercial focus and an emphasis on industry collaboration. In that respect it is similar to Germany's Fraunhofer Society although it is far smaller in scale.
The NDRC's funding is mostly from the Irish Government [2] although a portion is from private sources.
Contents
Research Focus
The Centre's research is highly applied, and a commercial or socially-sustainable outcome is the specific goals of all NDRC research projects. Less emphasis is placed on traditional measures of academic merit such as publishing papers or supervising graduate education, although these are still important aspects of NDRC's day-to-day activity. According to the Irish Times, NDRC projects "are operated as unincorporated joint ventures. They take technology ideas developed in academia and advance them to a stage where they can be commercialised as a product or service." [3]
Size and Location
The Centre employs around 100 research staff. It is unusual for a research institute in that a significant minority of research staff are from business rather than academic backgrounds. The NDRC's main facility is the 18th-century former Guinness Brewery hop store, now part of the Irish Digital Hub and the former location of MIT's Media Lab Europe.
History
NDRC was founded following failure of Media Lab Europe and its dissolution in 2005. Although criticised for a slow start[4], NDRC announced in November 2009 that it had completed its first investment tranche and had 17 project investments completed to a value of €12M[3].
Collaborations
NDRC is owned by a consortium of five Irish research universities, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, National College of Art and Design, Institute for Art Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire, and Dublin City University.
The Centre collaborates with a significant number of Irish SMEs[5] as well as having ongoing relationships with Microsoft, Google, and IBM, all of whom have European headquarters in Dublin.
References
- ^ Liberty consortium wins bid to run Centre
- ^ Funding for DCENR 2007
- ^ a b "14 out of 17 projects have commercial backing". The Irish Times. 20 November 2009. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/1120/1224259174121.html. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
- ^ "Digital Research: Tech hub forced to hand back €1.8m to State". The Irish Independent. 23 September 2008. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/digital-research-tech-hub-forced-to-hand-back-euro18m-to-state-1480429.html. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- ^ NDRC Projects Launch - December 2008
External links
Categories:- Scientific institutions
- Research institutes in the Republic of Ireland
- Companies of the Republic of Ireland
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