Context
Ireland currently faces economic difficulties of a depth and scale unknown since the foundation of the State. Our economic crisis presents us with an opportunity to derive greater efficiencies from investment in national infrastructure and to innovate to achieve optimum benefits from Ireland’s vast marine resource.
The following sectors represent global growth areas where market opportunities exist for niche products and services:
Marine Energy (marine renewables and offshore hydrocarbons)
Maritime ICT
Shipping, Logistics and Transport
Maritime Security
and Safety
Yachting Products and Services
The IMERC initiative comes at the dawn of a new era for maritime Ireland, stimulated by the growing realisation of the economic opportunities around maritime and energy, and in particular with regard to marine renewables.
Our Vision
Vision Statement: The IMERC vision is to promote Ireland as a world-renowned research and development location, that unlocks Ireland’s maritime and energy potential.
IMERC aims to harness and integrate diverse research and industry expertise through the development of an innovation cluster.
An initial focus is on underpinning Ireland’s position as an early leader in the nascent ocean energy (wave and tidal) sector.
Our Impact
Our impact is the development of an ecosystem of innovation to support job creation in a unique cluster and campus location.
Launched in March 2010, specific targets for IMERC are for 70 new research jobs by 2014, five companies incorporated by 2015, and two foreign direct investment clients secured by 2016.
Our Approach
There is an urgent need for public sector transformation where public bodies demonstrate value in the services they provide and are reviewed on the basis of evidence-based impacts.
Public bodies are now being challenged to do everything within their power to foster job creation.
Three public bodies University College Cork, the Cork Institute of Technology, and the Irish Naval Service have embarked on a bottom-up approach to public sector transformation. This is being achieved via reorganisation within the respective organisations, and via strategic collaboration across them.
This tripartite alliance, which forms the core of IMERC, are working to provide researchers, technology developers, companies (especially SMEs) and investors with the critical tools to build value creating relationships, to make alliances and supporting infrastructure more accessible and effective in the maritime and energy sectors.
