Irish universities, technology institutes and other publicly funded research institutions are now spending more than half a billion euros per year on research, according to Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI).
A review of 2021 spending from KTI showed that research performing institutions spent €672m on research last year, the highest spending on record.
This also marks an increase of more than a third since KTI first launched the annual Knowledge Transfer Survey in 2013.
There was also a slight increase in the number of spin-out companies created from organizations performing research last year. 32 such companies were formed in 2021, an increase of 2 from a year ago.
According to KTI, there are now a total of 143 companies operating out of research activities in Ireland that have been in existence for three or more years. The formation of these companies has also created 1,218 jobs.
Five spin-out companies were acquired in 2021, generating €4m in revenue for research organizations in Ireland.
Irish companies also looked forward to working closely with third-tier institutions for research, development and innovation projects last year, leading to 80 pc R&D agreements in 2021. Of these, 66 PCs were also small and medium enterprises.
Enterprise Ireland’s disruptive technology manager Imelda Lambkin said, “Our 2021 annual knowledge transfer survey shows that, despite the challenges of the past several years, the relationship between Irish publicly funded research and enterprise is stronger than ever “
“We are seeing a continued geographic spread of activity from businesses affiliated with Tier III and other state-funded research organizations.”
