The NCSR has established five strategic research & education alliances with internationally recognised centres in identified key areas of Sensor R&D:

• Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Australia
  www.uow.edu.au
• Sensors research Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
  www.gatech.edu
• VTT Electronics, Oulu, Finland
  www.vtt.fi
• Cornell University Nanobiotechnology Centre
  www.nbtc.cornell.edu
• Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, USA
  www.biodesign.asu.edu

The NCSR also has links with a number of institutions and research centres throughout Ireland including:

• The Centre for ASsured, SafE and Traceable food (ASSET) at Queen's University, Belfast
  www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/ASSET
• National University of Ireland, Galway
  www.nuigalway.ie
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
  www.rcsi.ie
  
• Tyndall National Institute
  www.tyndall.ie
• University College Dublin
  www.ucd.ie

The purpose of these alliances is to:

• Encourage and support exchange visits of research personnel at all levels.
• Facilitate mutual access to research facilities and equipment.
• Actively pursue mechanisms for funding of joint research projects.

Negotiations are on-going with the development of further international strategic alliances that will impact on undergraduate and postgraduate learning, and also on development of collaborative research programmes.