Chamber praises Magee investment

Magee is a campus of the University of Ulster located in Derry, Northern Ireland. It opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and theological college. Today, it has no religious affiliation and provides a broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate academic degree programmes in a wide range of disciplines ranging from computer science, computer games and robotics to psychology and nursing. "Magee" gained its name from Martha Magee, the widow of a Presbyterian minister, who, in 1845, bequeathed £20,000 to the Presbyterian Church of Ireland to found a college for theology and the arts.

The Londonderry Chamber of Commerce has praised the University of Ulster, Invest NI and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for creating the first functional brain mapping facility on the island of Ireland, which is to be established at Derry‘s Magee campus. The project is the result of a £5.3m investment and confirms Magee’s position at the forefront of some of the most exciting academic work on intelligent systems taking place anywhere.

“This is an example of what the Chamber wants to see emerging from Magee and shows its capacity to be world leading,” said the President, Philip Gilliland.

“The Chamber is passionately committed to the development of the University of Ulster’s presence in Derry at Magee. We want to see it expand both in terms of size and in its role in the city. The skills and research and development emerging from Magee can, and hopefully will, play a central role in the expanding economy of Derry.

“We praise the University for its commitment to the Intelligent Systems Research Centre at Magee and we hope the facility will continue to expand. Similarly we praise both Invest NI and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for their support of the brain imaging system. This is another case where Derry occupies a leading position in the digital markets and we appreciate INI and the minister for recognising this.

“Arlene Foster was very receptive on her visit to Derry this week in her meeting with the Chamber of Commerce to our message when we stressed that expanding Magee is the single most important initiative for improving the economic and social wellbeing of the city.

“This is why the Chamber is urging its members and the wider population to support the petition calling for the urgent and substantial expansion of Magee. We hope that this call can be supported across the political spectrum.”

The web address for the petition is http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lets-make-it-happen-at-magee/