Research Priority Areas To Include Smart Food, AI and Augmented Reality
Smart Food, Artificial Intelligence, & Augmented Reality
Over the next five years, new areas of research that include smart food, artificial intelligence and augmented reality are to be prioritized for government funding. This is according to the recently published Research Priority Areas 2018-2023 report that outlines the new areas that will attract government funding.
Priority Areas
The review of priority areas is in line with the government’s Innovation 2020 research and development plan. This initiative seeks to map the government funding to areas that could provide the largest economic returns. However, this policy move was controversial as some researchers felt that their areas were not given enough consideration due to less commercial potential. Moreover, the review in 2018 necessitated revisions and updates on priority areas.
Addressing Climate Change
The urgency to address climate change has made the “Energy” area a top priority. This has seen it being renamed as “Energy, Climate Action, and Sustainability.” Additionally, the area of ICT has artificial intelligence and robotics being prioritized while the food industry has production and manufacturing being given high priority. Apart from enjoying the 25% R&D tax credit and the 12.5% corporate tax deduction, these areas are will receive intense government support in terms of financial resources.
Creating Global Opportunities for Ireland
The Vice-President for Research, Innovation, and Impact at UCD, Professor Orla Feely, stated that the areas that have been prioritised offer global opportunities for Ireland. She further added that the recent Government document Enterprise 2025 Renewed highlights the fact that Ireland is still a long way from achieving the national R&D intensity goal of 2.5% of GNP by 2020. However, moving with these trends and focusing on areas that could transform the economy, the country will be well placed to achieve this goal.
