Bridging the ‘valley of death’ between data and industry

Ireland’s Centre for Applied AI, CeAdar at UCD, takes pioneering-edge research and uses it for what businesses need, closing the gap between academic projects and commercial application

Edward McDonnell, chief executive of CeAdar Picture: Fergal Phillips

The unkindest description of Edward McDonnell would be to describe him as specialising in high-end paint filling. His job, as centre director of CeAdar in UCD, is to bridge the gap between research projects and what businesses need.

CeAdar, so named because it is the university’s centre for artificial intelligence and data analytics, sits between the worlds of academic research and commercial application.

The gap between the two is the problem. It always ...