North West City Region
North West City Region perfect setting for Europe’s Leading Innovators
Irelands North West City Region has its home in one of the most beautiful locations on the very edge of Europe, in a place that has inspired makers and creators for centuries.
The Chief Executives of the two local authorities that have been spearheading the development of the city region for the last number of years, are once again delighted to be welcoming Europe’s top innovators to this unique and aspiring city region.
MIT Innovators Under 35 Europe, which is being hosted in the idyllic setting of Gaoth Dobhair, west Donegal, brings together the shapers of our future, transforming our lives through their technological advances and includes European visionaries delivering innovation, ingenuity, and advances toward addressing the world’s most pressing challenges in their respective fields.
Whilst showing off the expertise of these 35 European visionaries and their outstanding technological achievements, the event also shines a spotlight on the unique and aspiring North West City Region and its strong research and innovation ecosystem.
This city region is unique in many ways, not least as one that straddles two jurisdictions offering easy access to both the EU and UK markets. Donegal in the Republic of Ireland and Derry/Strabane in Northern Ireland make up a city region comprising over 350,000 people, boasting a highly skilled workforce with a diverse and growing range of large multinationals who call the region home.
The strong and effective partnership led by Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council has been endorsed by both Governments on the island, recognising its potential to drive innovation, growth and prosperity for this unique and diverse area.
With the MIT Festival returning to Ireland, and given the level of activity taking place here, the North West City Region feels like a fitting home for the event.
“Bringing this event to the North West City Region gives us an opportunity to showcase the impressive and supportive ecosystem of innovative businesses and organisations already present in the region”, said John McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council.
“This region has developed into a thriving hub for global growth, bubbling with innovative start-ups a wealth of new creative companies operating alongside indigenous businesses that see innovation and creativity as the key to their success. I think it makes it quite fitting that this event has returned to Northwest with all the future investment planned into research and innovation assets across the North West”
John Kelpie, Chief Executive of Derry City and Strabane District Council agrees with these sentiments saying, “The recent injection of investment of £250 million under the City Deal and Inclusive Future Fund will continue to drive innovation in areas of existing world-leading research including in precision medicine, cognitive analytics, automation and robotics. This will position the North West City Region as a highly digitally-enabled location for cutting-edge business development, expansion and inward investment.
“Collaboration is key to how we do business and we will continue to work with our stakeholders and partners, including industry, to promote this city region as a great place to do business and to build on the positive experiences around our investments from multinational companies such as TCS, Seagate, Randox, Fujitsu, Allstate NI, Abbott, Optum, PGIM, Sita, DuPont, FinTrU and Alchemy Technology.
“The strong momentum among businesses, government, academia and our communities to maximize the potential of the city region is being achieved through joint planning and resourcing of our strategic priorities.”
To find out more about the region and why our companies invest here, visit https://irelandnw.com/ Get in touch, email [email protected]
