Ireland and Telangana – A Common Vision for Global Innovation and Collaboration

My visit to the BioAsia event in Hyderabad last month provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the pioneering, innovative work being carried out in the lifesciences industry, as much as the vibrancy of the ecosystem in Telangana! Hundreds of domestic and multinational companies, from start-ups to pharma giants, congregated to celebrate developments in sectors such as lifesciences, health tech and drug discovery & development.

An aspect that struck me while there, was the increasing commonality between the State of Telangana and the Republic of Ireland with both having robust ecosystems driven by innovation and collaboration in AI-driven technologies.

Ireland and Telangana share a common vision for fostering excellence in technology and healthcare. The success of the efforts in attracting the best of organisations to these two locations is visible in the many global giants that have chosen to locate large teams in these regions for their businesses. Google, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Novartis, Abbott, Amazon, GSK, Meta and Microsoft, to name a few, have made Ireland and Telangana strategic hubs for their European and Asian operations respectively. This vote of faith by these companies underscores the strengths of these regions in offering a supportive and conducive environment for establishing a presence, availability of skilled talent and for research and innovation in different aspects of the health, tech and lifesciences economies.

Both regions while being home to almost the same names have their own unique strengths, emerging as global hubs for Lifesciences and ICT across manufacturing, innovation and research. Both regions boast government supported innovation centres, Centres of Excellence, and academic institutions, besides programs for knowledge sharing and to foster collaborations. And then again, both regions are the forefront of encouraging entrepreneurship through various start-up ecosystem enablers including incubators, accelerators and incentives.

The similarity continues. Both, Ireland and Telangana, are at the forefront of adopting AI and digital technologies in healthcare and related sectors. Collaborative projects focusing on AI-driven drug discovery, digital health solutions, and personalised medicine are revolutionising healthcare delivery and the pharmaceutical industry, with the enabling environment offered by both locations. While Telangana offers a talent cost benefit, Ireland can offer a talent base adept at working on improving patient outcomes and transforming the delivery of healthcare with the use of technology.

Institutions and companies between the two regions could be brought together to work on common programs to mutual benefit. Ireland's experience in creating a thriving start-up ecosystem, combined with Telangana's initiatives to support innovation, can help grow organisations that could develop cutting-edge solutions to address some global health challenges. A stronger, richer talent base could be developed through partnerships between educational and research institutions in Ireland and Telangana, perhaps leading to enhanced scientific research and innovation. Exchange programs for students and researchers, joint research projects, and collaborative PhD programs may help to expand the horizons of knowledge in Lifesciences, HealthTech and AI.

BioAsia has galvanized my aspiration to ensure that organisations from India leverage the best that Ireland has to offer in innovation and collaboration to maximise international opportunities. Companies from around the world are investing millions of dollars in setting up their lifesciences operations in Ireland and as Indian companies revisit their EU strategies, the time is right for them to choose Ireland as their gateway to the world!