The potential of Foyle port is one of a number of projects which NUI Galway and Ulster University will develop under the Government’s North-South Research programme.
The two universities will work in partnership on the Atlantic Innovation Corridor as part of a €4 million project to advance understanding of the region and foster sustainable innovation.
The corridor is a cross-border collaboration that involves a series of research work programmes on sustainable regional development for the north-west of the island, the west and mid-west.
University of Limerick and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology are co-partners on the research.
It will focus on themes such as rural entrepreneurial ecosystems, business scaling, female entrepreneurship, digitalisation, freight connectivity and mental health.
The four-year project was announced this week by Taoiseach Michéal Martin and Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris.
Exploring international freight transport connectivity through the northwest of the island, including rail connectivity and the potential of Foyle port is one of a number of research areas identified.
The collaboration will also work on: a mentoring scheme for female entrepreneurs in the region; identifying economic growth bottlenecks and how to take action; and business masterclasses for growth.
Other areas will include mental health promotion; digital skills development, transformation and policy interventions in rural and peripheral regions; and the impact of Brexit and Covid on female entrepreneurship.
Establishing the region and the partnership as an internationally recognised centre of excellence for “impactful research” is also listed as a project theme.
“This investment in large-scale social science research will create a resource for the region and the country.” Professor Jim Livesey, NUIG vice president for research and innovation and principal investigator for the Atlantic Innovation Corridor, said.
“Our collaboration will produce engaged research that will help guide us through the transitions, digital, green and energy, that are before us,” he said.
“Alongside the well-documented environmental factors of sustainable development, this unique partnership aims to explore and address human considerations including the responsiveness of communities and sectors to mobilise for collective action and innovation.”
“From our progressive campus in Derry~Londonderry, we are uniquely placed to contribute to this three-city regional collaboration, incorporating research that can contribute insights, inform policy and drive forward practical solutions for the benefit of individuals, organisations and communities,” Professor Liam Maguire, Ulster University pro vice-chancellor for research said.
The North-South Research Programme is a collaborative scheme funded through the Government’s Shared Island Fund.
It is administered by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
