Innovation Academy (TM)

Trinity and UCD have officially launched, with government backing, their new joint research venture, the "Innovation Academy." As is increasingly the norm with these sorts of initiatives, claims are being made about huge numbers of spin-out companies and jobs that will result. Of course, in such a goal in the current economic climate everyone in the country would wish them well. However, these kinds of statements are based totally on guesswork (if even that) and the numbers that do result will be judged in the fullness of time. 

Hopefully it won't follow on from previous initiatives in Dublin that failed to live up to expectations despite large amounts of hype and funding, eg the Dublin Media Lab and the Digital Hub. But this one is different because it is essentially a means of the universities concerned competing with others in the country to win the lion's share of research monies.  Of course doing this at the time in which the PRTLI call is out and proposals are being worked on, is to say the least, inappropriate.

The Irish Times reported the thoughts of other university Presidents on the matter this morning, particularly the lack of collegiality that has been evident in the IUA of late.