Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade

Trade Promotion: Discussion with American Chamber of Commerce Ireland (Resumed)

3:25 pm

Mr. Brian Cotter:

Yes. The thing to do is to look at where Ireland is trying to build up competency and at the prioritisation areas Science Foundation Ireland has set and to map those, largely in alliance between companies and universities, with the centres of competency for those around the world. One would expect to see strong linkages in the education sector between those clusters because they should mirror each other. Those linkages are a great source of intellectual transfer also that needs to take place. The opportunity exists for any institution in Ireland, whether it is an IT or a university, to target a cluster to find and establish the links. This could bring significant benefits in terms of investment and trade down the road.