Dublin universities try to make the most of EU funding (31/3/09)

Representatives from three Dublin universities travelled to Brussels this week for a series of meeting on how to maximise EU funding opportunities. Staff members from UCD, DCU and Trinity College met with Jan Figel, the EU Commissioner for Education and Training, and with senior officials from the EU’s Research Directorate. Also attending were business leaders from leading Irish firms including Merrill Lynch, Boston Scientific, Pfizer, Accenture, Citibank and the IDA.
‘We discussed how universities and businesses in Dublin can work together to boost job creation, using all the available EU support,’ said Fianna Fáil MEP Eoin Ryan, who organised the meetings.
Participants at the meetings also heard details of a new University Business Forum being developed by the European Commission in Brussels. The aim of the project is to provide a platform for the exchange of views on issues such as the employability of graduates, continuing education, and the promotion of partnerships between universities and businesses. ‘Cooperation between higher education and business benefits both sides; it opens up new business opportunities and prepares students for the workplace,’ said Eoin Ryan. He added, ‘The EU will back projects that promote new and evolving technologies. Already over 350 Irish projects have drawn down over 80 million euro in EU funding in the space of a year and a half.’