CONNECT is the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications, headquartered at Trinity College Dublin. The centre brings together over 450 researchers from ten Irish higher education institutions to conduct world-class research on future network technologies, IoT systems, and their applications in smart cities, health, energy, and agriculture.
CONNECT is a founding partner of Smart Docklands, Dublin's pioneering smart city testbed, and plays a critical role in providing the research capability and technical infrastructure that underpins many of Dublin's smart city experiments. The centre's researchers develop and test advanced networking technologies including 5G and beyond, low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN), edge computing platforms, and AI-driven network management systems that form the connectivity backbone of smart city applications.
The centre's smart city research portfolio includes projects on urban environmental monitoring using distributed sensor networks, intelligent traffic management systems, connected and autonomous vehicle technologies, smart building energy management, and privacy-preserving data analytics for urban applications. CONNECT researchers also investigate the social and ethical dimensions of smart city technologies, ensuring that technical innovation is accompanied by consideration of citizen rights, digital inclusion, and equitable access.
CONNECT's industry partnership programme involves over 50 companies, ranging from global technology leaders to Irish startups, creating a vibrant ecosystem for translating research into practical urban solutions. The centre's graduates are highly sought after by both the technology industry and municipal organisations, contributing to the skilled workforce needed to implement smart city strategies. CONNECT's combination of fundamental research excellence and practical urban technology deployment makes it a cornerstone institution in Dublin's smart city ecosystem.