2008 Press Releases
Taoiseach lays Foundation Stone for UCC's Information Technology Building
08.02.2008
An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, TD today (February 8th 2008) laid the foundation stone for UCC's €67 million Information Technology (IT) Building, the single biggest project in the University's €400 million capital development programme.
08.02.2008
An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, TD today (February 8th 2008) laid the foundation stone for UCC's €67 million Information Technology (IT) Building, the single biggest project in the University's €400 million capital development programme.
The new facility, on the former Greyhound Track at the western approach to Cork City, will allow the university to bring together on one site, key research areas including SFI/ PRTLI- funded IT groups such as, 4C, CUC, MISL, CEOL, BCRI etc.1
The IT building will provide new lecture theatres, undergraduate teaching laboratories, research laboratories and a new riverside café. A key feature is the new IT incubation suite which will encourage start-up software development companies. Work commenced on the project in September 2006. The building will be completed in March of next year.
The 5.5 acre site, purchased by UCC in the late 1990s from Bord na gCon, is located on the western edge of the University campus and will be linked by a pedestrian bridge to the recently completed Brookfield Health Sciences complex.
At the Ceremony, UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy said: "The building will position UCC at the forefront of international education in key areas and will allow the University to contribute fully to the delivery of Government policy in the area of fourth level education in particular under the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation."
Professor Patrick Fitzpatrick, Head of UCC's College of Science, Engineering & Food Science said UCC has taken a very important extra step by bringing the Mathematical Sciences into the building side by side with Computer Science. "This is very significant in the context of the potential for interactions in teaching and research between two groups", he said.
The development was recommended for funding in the Higher Education Authority's (HEA) review, Prioritisation of Capital Projects in the Third Level Sector. As well as HEA funding, the project also received support from private sources, including The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Last year, UCC planners decided to add a further two storeys to the building to cater for projected future space needs. It is anticipated that within the next decade, more than 20,000 will be studying at the University.
The flagship building will significantly boost the University's contribution to economic development locally and nationally, by helping to generate new inward investment in the areas of ICT and the Biomedical Sciences. The provision of the facility is also in line with the Government's requirement for the development in Ireland of a knowledge-based economy. Overall investment on the site will ultimately exceed €100m.
The design and construction of the new building is being overseen by UCC's Buildings and Estates Office and includes Architect, Scott Tallon Walker. Other team members include mechanical & electrical engineers, Project Management Group, civil & structural engineers, Arup and quantity surveyors, Davis Langdon PKS. The main contractor is Rohcon.
1Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI)
Boole Centre for Research in Informatics (BCRI) - PRTLI 3 funded project
The Cork Constraint Computation Centre - ( 4C)
The Centre for Unified Computing - (CUC)
Centre for Efficiency-Oriented Languages - (CEOL)
Mobile & Internet Systems Laboratory - (MISL)
630MMcS
The IT building will provide new lecture theatres, undergraduate teaching laboratories, research laboratories and a new riverside café. A key feature is the new IT incubation suite which will encourage start-up software development companies. Work commenced on the project in September 2006. The building will be completed in March of next year.
The 5.5 acre site, purchased by UCC in the late 1990s from Bord na gCon, is located on the western edge of the University campus and will be linked by a pedestrian bridge to the recently completed Brookfield Health Sciences complex.
At the Ceremony, UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy said: "The building will position UCC at the forefront of international education in key areas and will allow the University to contribute fully to the delivery of Government policy in the area of fourth level education in particular under the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation."
Professor Patrick Fitzpatrick, Head of UCC's College of Science, Engineering & Food Science said UCC has taken a very important extra step by bringing the Mathematical Sciences into the building side by side with Computer Science. "This is very significant in the context of the potential for interactions in teaching and research between two groups", he said.
The development was recommended for funding in the Higher Education Authority's (HEA) review, Prioritisation of Capital Projects in the Third Level Sector. As well as HEA funding, the project also received support from private sources, including The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Last year, UCC planners decided to add a further two storeys to the building to cater for projected future space needs. It is anticipated that within the next decade, more than 20,000 will be studying at the University.
The flagship building will significantly boost the University's contribution to economic development locally and nationally, by helping to generate new inward investment in the areas of ICT and the Biomedical Sciences. The provision of the facility is also in line with the Government's requirement for the development in Ireland of a knowledge-based economy. Overall investment on the site will ultimately exceed €100m.
The design and construction of the new building is being overseen by UCC's Buildings and Estates Office and includes Architect, Scott Tallon Walker. Other team members include mechanical & electrical engineers, Project Management Group, civil & structural engineers, Arup and quantity surveyors, Davis Langdon PKS. The main contractor is Rohcon.
1Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI)
Boole Centre for Research in Informatics (BCRI) - PRTLI 3 funded project
The Cork Constraint Computation Centre - ( 4C)
The Centre for Unified Computing - (CUC)
Centre for Efficiency-Oriented Languages - (CEOL)
Mobile & Internet Systems Laboratory - (MISL)
630MMcS