UCD Opens €5m AI Weather Forecasting Centre

A new research centre launched at University College Dublin aims to harness artificial intelligence to transform weather forecasting and strengthen Ireland’s preparedness for extreme weather.

The AIMSIR Centre, short for AI for Meteorological Services, Innovation and Research, is the first of its kind in Ireland. It has been established with a €5 million investment from Met Éireann, the national meteorological service, and brings together more than 60 UCD researchers from mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics and engineering.

Launching the centre, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless TD described it as “a pioneering initiative that places Ireland at the cutting edge of AI-driven weather research”.

“Through my department, we are investing in the infrastructure, talent and innovation needed to meet future challenges,” he said. “This centre will play a key role in strengthening our national resilience and ensuring Ireland is prepared for the impacts of severe weather.”

UCD President Professor Orla Feely said advances in weather prediction were crucial to protect people and infrastructure. “This collaboration between UCD and Met Éireann will ensure Ireland is at the forefront of this increasingly important area of scientific understanding,” she said.

Hosted in UCD’s School of Mathematics and Statistics and supported by the UCD Earth Institute, AIMSIR is a cornerstone of Met Éireann’s plan to use AI to improve forecasting. It will develop new tools to predict extreme and multi-hazard weather events with greater accuracy and speed, and to strengthen national forecasting capabilities.

Professor Andrew Parnell, who will lead the new centre alongside Deputy Director Dr Conor Sweeney, said it would offer “incredible opportunities” for students to develop the next generation of forecasting models. “AI is already revolutionising weather forecasting and we will position UCD and Met Éireann at the forefront of that change,” he said.

Around 20 PhD students will be trained at the centre in its first years. A new MSc in AI for Meteorology and Climate Change is also planned to build a pipeline of highly skilled researchers and professionals.

The centre will draw on more than a century of historical weather data and combine it with satellite and sensor information to create faster, more accurate models. Met Éireann Director Eoin Moran said the investment would build “national expertise in the application of data science to weather”.

AIMSIR also precedes UCD’s plans to launch a new AI Institute, which will further strengthen the university’s position as a leader in AI research and innovation.