IBM Research Ireland and Trinity College Dublin
IBM has collaborated closely with Irish universities including Trinity College Dublin (TCD) for decades
A major milestone with TCD was the launch of a predoctoral fellowship program – a first of a kind in Ireland – that gives promising students the opportunity to work at IBM Research as they work towards their PhD at TCD.
This novel talent program was awarded a €1.9M training grant by IDA Ireland in 2022 and will see IBM hire approximately 35 pre-doctoral positions.
In September 2022, IBM Research and TCD signed a MoU to further strengthen & expand their collaborative links – with a focus on Quantum Computing and AI for Science.
As next major milestone IBM co-located its Dublin Research lab on the TCD Campus at the start of 2025. This connects the Irish research & innovation system more closely with the US, where IBM Research has adopted similar initiatives with MIT, and with the National Quantum Algorithms Center & UIUC in Chicago. The goal is to collaborate even closer and conduct research into new algorithms leveraging the convergence of AI and quantum computing.
With the strong presence of IBM in Ireland, the Dublin lab being the only IBM Research lab in the EU, and the record of collaboration with the US, IBM is developing the lab in Ireland as a European Hub for research on Quantum & AI algorithms & their applications.
The IBM Research – TCD partnership is critical part of this mission and has demonstrated outstanding impact for research, tech development & Irish society across 3 dimensions:
Joint Research in AI and Quantum:
IBM & TCD researchers have collaborated for years. Since the MoU, collaborations in AI & Quantum have deepened-with 20 joint, scientific publications in 2024 and 2025 (already 100+ citations).
Talent development of the next generation of Irish industrial scientists:
Within the IBM Pre-Doc program, IBM Research hired 14 top talent Pre-Docs with TCD to date. As part of the Pre-Doc program, held annual IBM Research Masterclasses at TCD, a series of novel, high-impact education events in Ireland, with 1 week focused classes and 1 day topical workshops. To date total 200+ learners have attended these classes, and 500+ attendees the workshops. Since 2023, IBM has held 7 Masterclasses at TCD.
Jointly pursuing opportunities in the European R&D Ecosystem through:
IBM Ireland and TCD have jointly been parties to 7 EU-funded research projects, with funding of €6.1M awarded to TCD and €3.4M to IBM Ireland, since 2011. TCD was awarded €3M, and IBM €1.7M in joint Horizon Europe projects, since 2024.
TCD joined the AI Alliance, cofounded by IBM and Meta in 2023, with the goal of promoting equitable AI innovations across Ireland.
In 2025, IBM Research Ireland, TCD and 8 other Irish universities proposed to set up an Irish unit within ELLIS, a pan-European AI network of excellence (pending).
IBM Research Ireland and TCD have developed an impactful partnership, with outstanding connections to the R&D ecosystems in the US & Europe. The ambition is to take the impact to the next level, e.g. leveraging the Irish membership of CERN, and partnering on applications of Quantum & AI in earth & space with ESA.