IBM Research Ireland and Trinity College Dublin
IBM has collaborated closely with Irish universities including Trinity College Dublin for decades
A major milestone with Trinity 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 Trinity.
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 Trinity 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 Trinity 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 university partners, and with the National Quantum Algorithm Center 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, 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 – Trinity collaboration 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 & Trinity researchers have collaborated for years. Since the MoU, collaborations in AI & quantum have deepened-with 20 joint, scientific publications in 2024 and 2025.
Talent development of the next generation of Irish industrial scientists:
Within the IBM Pre-Doc program, IBM Research hired more than 15 top talent Pre-Docs with Trinity to date. As part of the Pre-Doc program, held annual IBM Research Masterclasses at Trinity, 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 Trinity.
Jointly pursuing opportunities in the European R&D ecosystem through:
IBM Ireland and Trinity have jointly been parties to 7 EU-funded research projects, with funding of €6.1M awarded to Trinity and €3.4M to IBM Ireland, since 2011. Trinity was awarded €3M, and IBM €1.7M in joint Horizon Europe projects, since 2024.
Trinity joined the AI Alliance, cofounded by IBM and Meta in 2023, with the goal of promoting equitable AI innovations across Ireland.
IBM Research Ireland and Trinity have developed an impactful collboration, 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.