The Engineering Centre of Research and Enterprise (engCORE) is the research division of the Faculty of Engineering at Institute of Technology Carlow responsible for driving research, development and innovation with its industry partners in collaboration with national and international funding agencies. Key research areas including Advanced Engineering Materials, MedTech, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and High-End Simulation and Modelling have ensured that engCORE is at the forefront of industry informed applied research and innovation.  

One of engCORE’s key industry partners, TANCO in Bagenalstown, Co Carlow is a leading producer of innovative agricultural machinery and one of the most respected and responsive brands in the agri-business world. Together in partnership, engCORE and TANCO are pushing the boundaries of precision agricultural machinery innovation through research funded by the Irish Research Council’s prestigious Employment Based Scholarship Programme. The scholarship programme co-funds the transfer of a TANCO design engineer onto a full time state-of-the-art collaborative research project that will not only inform the future direction of the precision agri-machinery sector but strategically ensures that TANCO leverages greater market share both domestically and internationally. TANCO’s research engineer will liaise closely with experts from engCORE’s Artificial Intelligence group to understand and quantify data intensive processes in agricultural operational environments that will in turn inform the future of interconnected farm systems.  

According to Dr. Dean Callaghan, a Director of engCORE, “The importance of our industry partnerships with progressive companies like TANCO is central to ensuring that our research centre is at the cutting edge of industry led research and innovation and that we are working collaboratively to find unique solutions to challenging problems that will shape our future”.  

Reinforcing the partnership further, TANCO have chosen to enrol one of its design engineers on the Institute of Technology Carlow Masters in Applied Research and Innovation programme. This research and enquiry-based programme aims to develop an integrated professional skillset for the TANCO engineer who wants to be effective in the management of the innovation process within the company.  

Commenting on the partnership Enda Lacey Head of Product Development with TANCO said that “Innovation is a key driver for success at TANCO, our future success will be delivered through strong partnerships with third level institutions such as Carlow IT. By placing our electronic and mechanical engineers on IT Carlow Masters programmes we are developing our competencies in areas such as AI and machine learning so that we can apply these in our products and services of the future. The award of the Employment Based Scholarship Programme by the Irish Research Council is an acknowledgement of TANCO’s commitment to leading edge research and development.”