The investment comes from Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and will be used to expand the centre’s research and innovation agenda.
Learning technology research centre Learnovate has secured more than €9m in funding to support Irish companies address their emerging skills gaps and prepare for the future of work.
Based in Trinity College Dublin, the Learnovate Centre currently has 75 member organisations from around the world, including Zoom, Mastercard and Cisco. In Ireland, its members include LearnUpon, SoapBox Labs and Skillnet Ireland.
The €9.6m in fresh funding comes from Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and will be used to expand the centre’s research and innovation agenda. This research will support companies in edtech and HR tech to develop tech tools to address Ireland’s skills gaps.
Announcing the funding, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, TD, said the emerging gaps in skills development is “one of the most important issues we are dealing with in Ireland” as the work and learning landscapes change so quickly.
“The work Learnovate is doing in working with, and supporting, companies in addressing those gaps is essential for our future economy,” he said.
‘A fundamental change in learning’
Learnovate has led more than 10 years of research in learning technologies with the support of experts from across a range of disciplines including technology, innovation, psychology, cognitive science and user experience.
One of the centre’s recent projects involved developing a prototype platform aimed at helping people improve their digital and data skills. Other projects that researchers at Learnovate have worked on include a project that aims to use AI tech to remove bias from the hiring process, as well as a digital tool that helps teachers and parents detect reading issues in children earlier.
Nessa McEniff, the centre’s director, said the new funding was a huge vote of confidence in Learnovate’s work. “It will greatly assist us in delivering on our mission to deliver competitive advantage to Irish industry and help Irish companies to address evident gaps in skills development,” she added.
Marina Donohoe, Enterprise Ireland’s head of research and innovation, said the Learnovate team has “embraced the need for a fundamental change” in learning. “This significant investment in the Learnovate Centre from Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland will help to ensure that Irish businesses are equipped with the necessary skills to excel in the rapidly evolving technological landscape, leveraging skills to drive innovation and deliver competitive advantage.”
As well as research projects, the centre also runs the EdTech Accelerator, first announced in October 2023. The accelerator is run in collaboration with AWS and helps early-stage start-ups that are developing digital tools and services to address education problems. Last month, Alpaca won the overall competition.
Find out how emerging tech trends are transforming tomorrow with our new podcast, Future Human: The Series. Listen now on Spotify, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
