CeADAR Ireland’s national centre for Applied Data Analytics & AI have won BDVA i-Spaces Accreditation

CeADAR Ireland’s national centre for Applied Data Analytics & AI has announced that they have won the BDVA i-Spaces accreditation. CeADAR is a market-focused technology centre that drives the accelerated development, and deployment of data analytics and AI technology and innovation. BDVA is the private counterpart to the EU Commission to implement the Big Data Value PPP program. BDVA and the Big Data Value PPP pursue a common shared vision of positioning Europe as the world leader in the creation of Big Data Value.

Funded by Enterprise Ireland, and IDA Ireland, CeADAR is headquartered in University College Dublin and is a partnership with the Technical University Dublin (formerly the Dublin Institute of Technology), and it is the bridge between the worlds of applied research in data analytics and AI and their commercial deployment. Funded by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, the Centre is headquartered in University College Dublin and is a partnership with the Technical University Dublin (formerly the Dublin Institute of Technology). Industry membership of CeADAR has grown significantly with now over 80 industry partners ranging from multi-nationals to indigenous SMEs spanning every industry vertical.

The Centre is also the focal point of a thriving national ecosystem delivering frequent seminars, conferences, and members’ networking events throughout the year. CeADAR was awarded the 2017 Dunn & Bradstreet prize for Best Analytics Research Group Ireland at the DatSci Awards. In November 2018 it received the European i-Spaces accreditation from the Big Data Value Association in Brussels, and it is worth noting that there are only 10 i-Spaces that have received European i-Spaces accreditation.

BDVA i-Spaces are the main elements of Big Data Value PPP assuring that innovations and research on BDV technologies and novel BDV applications will be quickly tested, piloted and exploited, to develop skills and share best practices, to develop new business models and evaluate societal impact. All categories and criteria for the BDVA i-Spaces accreditation were evaluated within the following 5 stage scale:

1. Infrastructure/Technologies of i-Space containing criteria to computing power/Storage capacity, access methods as well as tools, policies, standards & certificates.
2. Provided Services of i-Spacelike technical support, access to acceleration and incubation support skill leverage and provided training.
3. Projects/Applications of i-Space per sector ranked by relevance.
4. Impact to Eco-system of i-Space with criteria participation reach, EU-level outreach, enablement model and impact follow up.
5. Business Strategy of i-Space with criteria in strategy, economic sustainability, and revenue statements.

Dr. Ricardo Simon Carbajo, Head of Innovation & Development, CeADAR, said:

“The BDVA i-Spaces accreditation, received by CeADAR in 2018, is a recognition of excellence in the area of Big Data and AI. This accreditation includes CeADAR in a select group of trusted European centres capable of providing a combination of competences, infrastructure, and expertise to accelerate data-driven innovation in the commercial sector. For CeADAR this accreditation is an EU-level validation of its national success as Ireland’s Digital Innovation Hub in Applied Data Analytics and AI.” 

Dr. Edward McDonnell, Director, CeADAR (UCD) added:

“CeADAR is delighted to have been accreditated with the i-Spaces designation by the European Big Data value Association which is a public-private partnership with the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The accreditation recognises CeADAR’s 6-year contribution to developing Ireland’s capabilities in data analytics and AI among the ecosystem of MNCs and SMEs”