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ATU joins €4 million all-island arts and design research network funded through North-South Research Programme
Atlantic Technological University is a partner in one of the selected projects called CO-CREATE. This project is a major new €4 million cross-border research collaboration that will use art and design to drive societal transformation across the island of Ireland.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, TD, and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless, TD, have announced the allocation of €16 million in funding for four major cross-border research collaborations between higher education institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The investment is delivered through the second call of the North-South Research Programme (NSRP), administered by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
Atlantic Technological University (ATU) is a partner in one of the selected projects called CO-CREATE. This project is a major new €4 million cross-border research collaboration that will use art and design to drive societal transformation across the island of Ireland.
The project “CO-CREATE: Art and Design Research Network for Inclusive Futures” – is led by the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in partnership with Belfast School of Art at Ulster University, with ATU and the University of Limerick as key collaborators.
CO-CREATE is one of four Shared Island projects to be funded as part of the North-South Research Programme (NSRP), which is administered by the HEA on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Sciences (DFHERIS). NSRP is central to the Government’s Shared Island Initiative.
Funded through the Partnerships of Scale strand (Strand III) of NSPR, CO-CREATE will enable staff at across the four partners higher education institutions to collaborate with a broad range of colleagues at public bodies, non-profit and community-based arts and design organisations, and industry partners across the island of Ireland.
The CO-CREATE project will enable researchers to work with a range of partners to establish all-island initiatives that advance the role of art and design in engaging the creativity of diverse communities in research that drives societal transformation through co-created approaches to public services, climate action, health, and inclusive heritages.
CO-CREATE outcomes will include: designing community-led public services that increase inclusion and sustainable development; driving climate response, adaptation and behavioural change through arts-led environmental action; Shared Island curricula offering flexible, accessible micro-credentialed courses in applied creative research methods for societal transformation, and a multidisciplinary all-island doctoral network across art and design will focus specifically on engaged research.
The four successful projects were selected from 131 applications across 17 higher education institutions, following rigorous evaluation by an international panel of experts. Each will receive up to €4 million over a four-year period to deliver research with lasting impact for communities on both sides of the border.
Through CO-CREATE, staff and researchers at ATU will work alongside partners to develop arts- and design-led methods of engaging diverse communities in research that informs public services, climate action, health, and inclusive heritage initiatives.
President of ATU, Dr Orla Flynn, said;
“ATU is proud to be part of CO-CREATE, a project that shows the power of collaboration across disciplines and borders. By combining art, design, and community engagement, we can unlock new ways to address complex challenges such as climate change, health, and inclusion. This work will not only strengthen research connections across the island, it will also create practical, creative solutions that improve lives.”
Speaking about ATU’s role, Dr Lorna Ross, Head of Department of Design and Creative Media added; We are particularly proud of this award and cross island collaboration as it spotlights the contribution art and design can make to address complex societal and environmental issues…offering unique and illuminating insights and novel solutions. The ATU School for Creative Industry spans four of our nine campus and is the largest design department in the West of Ireland. At ATU we are committed to the principles of STEAM which promotes the inclusion of the creative perspective in research and innovation.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, TD, congratulated the successful teams, saying; “Deepening cooperation between higher education institutions and researchers on a cross-border basis to conduct research of economic and social benefit to the whole island is a key priority of the Government’s Shared Island Initiative.”
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless, TD, added; “These projects, spanning cybersecurity, language and identity, Parkinson’s disease research, and inclusive design, demonstrate the potential of what shared research ambition can achieve.”
Higher Education Authority CEO Dr Alan Wall said; “The Higher Education Authority is delighted to deliver the North South Research Programme which is a unique funding mechanism supporting the growth of research collaboration across all disciplines on an all-island basis.”
