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OneHealth AI Programme Strengthens Cross-Border Academic Partnership Along the North-West and Western Corridor
A major new €9.85 million AI-driven health innovation programme is strengthening cross-border academic collaboration along the North-West and Western corridor, bringing together leading institutions to tackle urgent public, animal, and environmental health challenges through the application of artificial intelligence.
A major new €9.85 million AI-driven health innovation programme is strengthening cross-border academic collaboration along the North-West and Western corridor, bringing together leading institutions to tackle urgent public, animal, and environmental health challenges through the application of artificial intelligence.
OneHealth, funded under PEACEPLUS and led by Catalyst, connects researchers, clinicians, and SMEs across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to deliver real-world, scalable innovation. Core academic partners include Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), University of Galway, Tyndall, and HIRANI.
ATU serves as the academic lead for the Republic of Ireland, contributing across both key strands of the programme:
- A series of cross-border Research and Innovation (R&I) projects involving multi-disciplinary teams tackling health, agrifood, and environmental challenges
- A structured AI Accelerator supporting 20 SMEs across three 9-month cycles to develop and commercialise AI-powered solutions
Combined, these strands aim to:
- Deliver 12 collaborative R&I projects
- Support 20 SMEs through applied research
- Support 20 additional SMEs through accelerator cycles
- Produce 20 major outputs, including peer-reviewed publications, patents, and frameworks for translation
Dr Orla Flynn, President of ATU, commented on the long-term impact of the collaboration:
“The ONEHEALTH programme is an exemplar of ATU’s commitment to developing strategically aligned academic partnerships across the island of Ireland. Together with our fellow university partners, we are combining research strengths across AI, digital health, and regional innovation to deliver tangible impact. From a seed-funded initiative through the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics, this alliance will play a central role in advancing solutions to shared challenges and demonstrate the long-term value of coordinated academic engagement. ATU’s contribution in this partnership will help ensure cross-border academic collaboration and a sustained, regional research community”.
Dr Michael McCann, Director of the JANUS Research Group which drives innovation in AI, HPC, and emerging technologies through cross-border and industry collaborations, and academic lead for the Republic of Ireland, said:
“ATU welcomes the opportunity to act as the Republic of Ireland’s lead academic partner in the ONEHEALTH consortium. As the principal cross-border academic institution serving Ireland’s North-West, this initiative represents a strategic opportunity to deepen our research partnership with the University of Galway and deliver meaningful regional impact. Through the JANUS Research Group, and in collaboration with colleagues across academia, industry, and the public sector, we will apply advanced AI and digital technologies to address complex health, agrifood, and environmental challenges. With a key presence in the border region, ATU is uniquely positioned to facilitate academic collaboration across jurisdictions and to strengthen connections across an emerging island-wide research ecosystem that includes partners such as Queens University Belfast and the University of Galway. The ONEHEALTH initiative will strengthen ATU’s contribution to cross-border innovation, resilience and sustainable development along the North-West and Western corridor.”
Professor Mark Lawler, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Digital Health at Queen’s University Belfast, and academic lead for Northern Ireland, said:
“ONEHEALTH is a game-changer, uniting unrivalled academic and industry expertise from across the island of Ireland to address the greatest challenges in human health. We will focus on identifying and solving complex challenges that are particular to the region, with a key focus on human, environmental and animal health, reflecting our Faculty’s focus on health equity, personal health improvement and population health and well-being. Through ONEHEALTH, we will maximise both the health dividend of peace and the economic dividend of health, both critical to the island of Ireland flourishing in these challenging times. I am very excited to apply our digitally enhanced data-informed approach at Momentum One Zero to deliver new business opportunities, increase employment and enhance skills across the region.”
Professor John Breslin, Investigator at the Insight and VistaMilk Research Ireland Centres, University of Galway, said:
“We are pleased to continue building our collaboration with ATU through the ONEHEALTH programme. What began with seed-funded research has grown into a strong and strategically aligned academic partnership focused on impact across the North-West and Western corridor. This initiative enables us to develop and commercialise technology innovations at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health.”
Dr Priyanka Verma, Lecturer in Computer Science and project lead for the University of Galway, said:
“By fostering cross-sector collaboration and applying the latest advances in AI, ONEHEALTH not only supports scientific progress and public health outcomes but also creates new cross-border economic opportunities and contributes to a more resilient and sustainable future.”
The ONEHEALTH programme is funded by the European Union and the UK Government through the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and represents a major investment in AI-enabled, cross-jurisdictional innovation for the island of Ireland.
Please contact jorden.mcmenamin@Atu.ie /074 918 6127 for more information.
FEATURED IMAGE: Group photo featuring academic leads and university representatives from the OneHealth consortium.
