Trinity College Dublin welcomed members of the European Council’s Defence Industry Working Party (DIWP) on 11 September as part of a three-day programme hosted by Ireland’s Department of Defence during the Irish EU Presidency.
The visit brought together delegates from EU Member State defence ministries, the European Commission’s DG DEFIS, the European Defence Agency and the European Council Secretariat, alongside representatives from academia and industry. The programme aimed to deepen understanding of Ireland’s contribution to European capability development, with a particular focus on dual-use innovation, maritime security and space-enabled technologies.
A central feature of the Trinity visit was a keynote presentation by Professor Marco Ruffini on Sea-Scan, which is exploring new approaches to monitoring and protecting critical subsea infrastructure.
Sea-Scan is co-funded by the Department of Defence Ireland and the Irish Defence Forces through the Research Ireland Defence Innovation Challenge, whose support has been central to driving the initiative and bringing together research and defence expertise.
The visit also showcased the strength of Ireland’s wider research and innovation ecosystem. Professor John D. Kelleher, Director of the Research Ireland ADAPT Centre, contributed to a panel discussion alongside Hazel Murray of Munster Technological University and Dr Martin Meissen from IBM, bringing perspectives from academia and industry to the discussion.
The Trinity session formed part of a wider programme of policy discussion, industry engagement and site visits designed to highlight Irish expertise and strengthen connections with European partners.
