MIDAS IRELAND ANNUAL CONFERENCE RECOGNISES IRELAND’S GROWING REPUTATION AS A WORLD LEADER IN MICROELECTRONICS RESEARCH

MIDAS IRELAND ANNUAL CONFERENCE RECOGNISES IRELAND’S GROWING REPUTATION AS A WORLD LEADER IN MICROELECTRONICS RESEARCH
 
 
PROGRESS MADE IN ATTRACTING INTERNATIONAL MICROELECTRONICS FIRMS TO CONCENTRATE R&D HERE IS DISCUSSED – ALONG WITH AMBITIOUS PLANS TO STRENGTHEN IRELAND’S GLOBAL POSITION FURTHER
 
DUBLIN, Ireland – Microelectronics Week – Nov. 7th 2012 – MIDAS Ireland, the industry-led organisation which represents the interests of the microelectronics industry held its annual conference today in Dublin. Attended by leaders from across the microelectronics sector, the conference entitled Research in Action in the Microelectronics Sector, highlighted the growing role Ireland is playing in the area of microelectronics research.
 
Speaking at the conference Minister of State for Small Business, John Perry TD, said: “There is no question that the microelectronics sector has benefited the Irish economy hugely in recent years. In order to derive a maximum return from it in future years, we need to ensure that industry works alongside researchers to generate new thinking that is highly applicable to the marketplace. This conference is a very welcome development because it will do much to concentrate the thinking of key stakeholders on generating discoveries which will translate into new products and new jobs.”
 
Addressing the conference on the importance of targeted research in the sector, John Blake, Chairman MIDAS Ireland and Director ON Semiconductor, said: “The microelectronics sector currently employs about 8,000 people in Ireland, 2,000 of which are in R&D jobs, and contributes about €9B in exports annually to the Irish economy. In fact practically all the revenue from the sector is for export, which is of very significant value to the national balance books. The past while has been a very exciting time for the sector. We’ve had new multinationals coming to Ireland, several new start-ups and lots of jobs announcements, over 500 new R&D jobs announced during the past couple of years alone.
 
“This industry is research driven, whether that research is taking place through research providers from within the academic community or in industry. I think in a well-designed overall national research ecosystem, microelectronics should be feeding into an intersection between multiple technologies, markets and applications. That is a big unexplored opportunity for the country, with the potential for enormous growth when targeted with the right strategy.”
 
Professor Mark WJ Ferguson, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, said: “Ireland is fast increasing its international reputation as a hub for scientific research. When R&D is conducted in Ireland, the economy benefits not just through the investment required for the research, but also through the industry that is generated from new discoveries. That holds true for a variety of scientific disciplines. SFI is actively facilitating the development of this Industry / Academic ecosystem through a variety of new schemes – large Research Centres of International scale and excellence , Industry Fellowship programme, Partnership scheme all fostering research excellence with economic impact. The microelectronics sector lends itself nicely to commercialisation, where new discoveries can be used in a wide variety of applications. So the benefits of a greater R&D focus here in terms of employment and revenues to the exchequer are immense.”
 
Dick Meaney, Vice President, Products & Technology Group, Analog Devices also addressed the conference today. Speaking to the audience he said: "I’ve enjoyed many years in the microelectronics sector. One that’s enabled me to travel the globe and have my eyes opened to a myriad of innovations. The sector itself is thriving in Ireland however there is potential for this country to take a lead in areas of research and design. We need to continue to focus on putting the right structures in place, encourage our students to innovate and remind them that it’s ok to fail. New innovations will come from curiosity and we as a nation need to be open to that in order to move at the speed needed to be leaders in this sector."
 
Microelectronics Week, which is organised by MIDAS Ireland, with the support of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, is running from Monday the 4th until Friday the 8th of November. Highlights include the launch of a third level competition in partnership with Analog Devices, and a ‘Research in Action Forum’ on Wednesday, where leading panellists from industry and affiliated bodies discussed how best to commercialise microelectronics research.
More information about Microelectronics Week 2013 is available at www.midasireland.ie.