Ireland Collaboratory to include Business Risk Analysis Research

Today, IBM and the Industrial Development Agency of Ireland (IDA Ireland) announced a new Risk Management Analytics research collaboration, joining IBM’s worldwide network of advanced analytic centres in the U.S., Germany and UK.

As part of the initiative, IBM is utilizing the vast expertise of its Research labs – harnessing next generation analytics and intelligent software – to develop enhanced methods and tools that will help companies in industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and government to better manage risk.

Through its established collaboratory in Ireland, IBM will join together with the University College Cork, IRCSET, Science Foundation Ireland, and IBM Research scientists in Zurich, Switzerland and Yorktown Heights, NY, USA on the development of these advanced risk analytics technologies. 

“This collaboration provides IBM the opportunity to explore exciting new areas of risk modelling and management, incorporating new techniques in information extraction, visualisation, and optimisation that will enable businesses to more effectively manage their operations in the face of uncertainty," said Brenda Dietrich vice president of Business Analytics and Math Sciences at IBM Research and an IBM Research Fellow. "Ireland's track record, combined with its ongoing research and development approach to new business creation, makes it an ideal location for the Risk Management Analytics research." 

The primary research will be in the areas of risk information extraction and quantification based on both structured and unstructured data as well as expert opinion, efficient risk-based optimisation techniques, and ways to communicate and interact with risk information. Such techniques can be used, for example, to assess and plan for potential supplier or labour disruptions, determine optimal policies for drug administration across patients, or make smarter investments in energy sources. 

Commenting on the announcement, Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD said, ‘This further investment by IBM, one of Ireland’s largest employers, is sincerely welcomed following on from the establishment of the company’s Green Data Centre and Exascale projects. This announcement is particularly poignant given this is Maths Week Ireland which aims to raise awareness, appreciation and understanding of maths. The formation of this maths focused research team demonstrates at the highest level the importance of mathematics to the Irish economy and mirrors the Government’s focus on providing investors to Ireland with the highest-level mathematics graduates.’ 

‘Research and Development is vital to the growth of Ireland’s knowledge economy and this project in particular is vital to the strategic development of IBM on a global scale. Ireland has a long-standing and strong relationship with IBM and with the support of the Irish Government we look forward to building further on this into the future,’ the Minister concluded. 

IBM collaboratory
An IBM collaboratory is a laboratory where IBM Researchers co-locate with a university, government, or commercial partner to share skills, assets, and resources to achieve a common research goal. 

In November 2008 IBM established a Research collaboratory in Ireland, researchers are already at work with government and academic leaders to develop exascale systems that will help solve the complex business and scientific problems of the future.