Galway-based consortium aims to build better construction sector in Ireland

Enterprise Ireland has chosen Galway as the location for its ninth technology centre, Construct Innovate, which is looking to overhaul Ireland’s construction sector.

Enterprise Ireland’s newest technology centre has officially opened today (9 December) at University of Galway. The planned opening of Construct Innovate, a centre focused on construction and tech, was originally announced in July of this year.

A consortium of Irish universities has been given a funding injection of €5m by the Government to enable them to collaborate on making Ireland’s construction sector more efficient.

The €5m fund comes from the Housing for All plan. It is to be spread out over five years, and will see academics from University of Galway work with Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and University College Cork.

Together, the consortium will co-operate with the Irish Green Building Council and other sectoral bodies and construction companies.

The various groups aim to make the construction industry more efficient and greener in its efforts to fulfil the requirements laid out by the Government’s numerous investment plans, such as Project Ireland 2040, the National Development Plan 2021-2030 and Housing for All.

The consortium will function as a single resource for the construction industry and its stakeholders.

Prof Jamie Goggins and Dr Magdalena Hajdukiewicz, University of Galway academics and directors of Construct Innovate, said their vision for the network is “to provide a platform for collaboration to all stakeholders in the construction industry”.

“A platform that empowers industry to take ownership of research and innovation and supports a modernised, resilient and sustainable sector. A key part of our work will be listening to industry – as they identify challenges and we will work together on this innovation journey.”

Following its official opening, the Construct Innovate centre is calling for construction companies to join its consortium as members.

The centre is the ninth technology centre belonging to Enterprise Ireland. The technology centre programme has been in operation for more than 12 years and it employs hundreds of researchers working collaboratively with almost 280 member companies.

Enterprise Ireland’s divisional manager for research and innovation Joe Healy said the centres were making “a measurable impact” in sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals, microelectronics, manufacturing, data analytics and ed-tech.

“Today’s launch comes at a crucial time when the ask on the [construction] industry to ramp up on build quality, quantity and delivery times is a top priority, all the while supporting a strict sustainability and carbon neutral agenda.”

Healy added that the hub would support knowledge sharing and the technology transformation of Ireland’s construction and built environment sector.

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