MIT isn't the only fruitful R&D partner

It is easy for European academics and entrepreneurs to get confused about the qualities of the myriad universities in the USA. The lazy answer is to assume that you can ignore everyone expect MIT. Some people are a bit smarter. For example, Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin has just announced that Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), of Atlanta, Georgia, US, will establish an applied research institute, with support from Ireland's Industrial Development Agency, "to focus on industry R&D needs".

 

GTRI describes itself as "the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. Our approximately 1,200 employees perform or support more than $100 million in research yearly for more than 200 clients in industry and government."

 

The announcement of the new research centre quotes the minister as saying "GTRI Ireland will be a significant addition to Ireland’s R&D capability and infrastructure and is especially important in that it will enhance the competitiveness of Ireland to attract cutting edge industry research particularly from multinational companies." 

 

For some reason, the announcement is silent on an earlier attempt to set up an American R&D operation in Ireland. This went belly up after five years because "the levels of external funding being raised were insufficient to sustain it into the future". Oh dear, wasn't that with MIT's Media Lab? Perhaps not everything in Cambridge, Mass, is perfect after all.