26 Oct 2023
Bosses say the combined facility in County Kildare will provide both enhanced veterinary education and a base for new industry innovations.
Allister Webb
Job Title
A new multimillion-pound teaching and research unit, which bosses say heralds a new chapter of work in veterinary medicine and other sectors, has been opened in Ireland.
Almost €5 million (£4.36 million) has been invested in the facility at University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) Lyons Farm site in County Kildare by the institution itself, Enterprise Ireland and the Irish-based pharmaceutical firm, Bimeda.
The new complex, which was opened by Ireland’s trade minister Simon Coveney yesterday (25 October), is home to the UCD’s new Bimeda Herd Health Hub, which will support undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, including a distance learning certificate in Dairy Herd Health.
The complex also houses the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre, which is intended to support startup businesses in the agri, agtech, agrifood and veterinary sectors.
Helen Roche – interim UCD vice-president for research, innovation and impact – said the Lyons Farm site already supports more than €40 million (£34.9 million) of research activity and the work of more than 2,000 students.
Prof Roche added: “This new facility will enable researchers, entrepreneurs and educators to co-locate in a single on-farm facility allowing them to collaborate more closely to further enhance Ireland’s capabilities and sustainable impact in agricultural, agri-food and veterinary sciences.”
Bimeda Group chairman Donal Tierney said: “From innovating the mastitis prevention technology, which revolutionised global dairy farming practices, to establishing our own Bimeda Global Innovation Centre in Dublin, Bimeda has always been committed to investing in Irish innovation and supporting the wider agri-tech sector to do the same.
“Bimeda’s philanthropic donation to UCD to establish the UCD Bimeda Herd Health Hub and the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre marks the next exciting chapter in our story of driving innovation.”
Carol Gibbons, Enterprise Ireland’s regions and local enterprise manager, said the site would become “a focal point” for innovation in the years ahead.
She added: “It has been a pleasure to work with UCD and other partners on this project and we are excited about its potential in the years ahead.”
Pic cap: From left, Carol Gibbons, manager, Regions and Local Enterprise, Enterprise Ireland; Professor Helen Roche, interim UCD vice-president for research, innovation and impact; Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and Donal Tierney, chairman, Bimeda Group.
