Construct Innovate welcomes thirty-five companies as first members

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Member companies will be supported by academic researchers and empowered to take ownership of the research, development and innovation activities required for their continued progression.

Construct Innovate provides access to a knowledge, business and innovation ecosystem to comprehensively deliver a broad agenda of strong innovation, engagement, excellence and impact in the Irish construction and built environment sector.

Dr Magdalena Hajdukiewicz, co-director of Construct Innovate, said: “Construct Innovate was founded just over a year ago with official launch in December 2022 and six months later it is very exciting to see the growing network of Construct Innovate. We are designing Construct Innovate to be inclusive for all stakeholders in the Irish construction and built environment sector, which builds on its current capacity and accelerates research and innovation.”

The announcement of the growing membership of Construct Innovate follows an academic industry meeting day (AIMday), the first networking and workshop event where members posed business challenges and sought new knowledge and solutions through workshops with multi-disciplinary groups of academic research experts.

As a result, the first research themes have been identified with working groups now being formed around these themes that include research and industry partners. The research programme of Construct Innovate will be driven by those multidisciplinary and intersectoral working groups to ensure research is focused on industry needs.

Construct Innovate centre manager Colm McHugh said: “Seeing the positivity and engagement that our industry members and academics brought to the first AIMday was very encouraging. It clearly demonstrated the scale of the issues that industry faces in transitioning to a more modern, productive and sustainable sector, but also the appetite and energy that is being brought by stakeholders to overcome these challenges. Construct Innovate will work to continuously facilitate vital research to assist our industry in this process.”

To coincide with the announcement of growing membership of Construct Innovate, University of Galway (UG) has launched a new postgraduate diploma in construction innovation, which starts in September.

Professor Jamie Goggins said: “The postgraduate diploma in construction innovation was developed in response to critical and proven skills needs in the construction and built environment sector. It is one-year, part-time, that aims to equip students with key knowledge and skills needed to develop sustainable technological solutions to the challenges facing the construction and built environment sector in Ireland and elsewhere.”

The course is funded through the Government’s Human Capital Initiative to provide 90 per cent funding towards fees, and fees are fully covered for those unemployed. The diploma will enable prospective students to develop skills in digital adoption, sustainability and modern methods of construction (MMC), develop critical thinking, curiosity and problem solving to manage the innovation process, identify opportunities (and challenges) for innovation in the construction sector, create novel construction technology solutions to previously unmet, under-met and unrecognised problems, and continue their professional development for meeting the future needs of the construction sector.

Nuala McGuinn, director of UG’s Centre for Adult Learning & Professional Development said: “The postgraduate diploma is designed with busy professionals in mind who wish to upskill or reskill to meet the critical demand for skills in innovation, digital adoption, sustainability and modern methods of construction, as identified. Course delivery is flexible, combining online learning with periodic onsite workshops. Course assessment is focused on the workplace enabling students to immediately apply their learning to the workplace.”

For more information visit https://constructinnovate.ie/about-us/members/