'Immense value to university and region': UCC building granted €25m for redevelopment

The heart of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) at University College Cork (UCC), the Kane Science building, will undergo significant redevelopment after receiving €25 million in funding under the second round of Higher Education Strategic Investment Fund.

Opened in 1971, the Kane Science Building supports undergraduate and postgraduate education for approximately 1,500 students per year.

The redevelopment will facilitate the education of 300 more STEM students at undergraduate and postgraduate level per year through redeveloped and expanded state of the art teaching and research spaces.

“The Kane building has seen many wonderful scientists and students work within it over many generations and this funding secures the future of a building which plays such a pivotal role in helping us develop excellent graduates and expand our world class research," President of UCC, Professor John O’Halloran, said.

The funding awarded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will amplify the critical contribution of the University and the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science to the regional and national economy, through enhanced STEM education and research.

The funding will also ensure the Kane building becomes more sustainable and energy efficient reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 51%, helping UCC achieve its 2030 carbon reduction targets and serving as an exemplar of how retrofitting can be deployed in publicly funded buildings and adapted to respond to climate mitigation measures.

"This investment into the Kane Building at UCC is of immense value both to the university and to the region as a whole. 

“UCC STEM graduates help underpin Ireland’s Biotechnology, ICT and Pharma sector, with many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies present in Cork," Head of the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science Professor Sarah Culloty said.