The millionaire businessman, Dr Tony Ryan, and his family are to set up a £5 million academy in west Dublin to train entrepreneurs in management skills and advanced technology.
The institution, to be called the Dr Tony Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship, is being funded by Dr Ryan's three sons and will have links with University College Dublin and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This investment follows similar high-profile educational initiatives by Dr Tony O'Reilly and Dr Michael Smurfit.
The promoters of the project said the academy would be an induction for potential entrepreneurs involving short intensive courses designed by MIT. The idea behind the project at the high-tech Citywest business park is to provide entrepreneurs with the management skills needed to implement their ideas.
About 200 students would be taking courses at any one time and the academy would be run on a non-profit basis.
The fees will be similar to those charged at other third-level institutions and a certain number of scholarships will also be available. Most of the students will already be in the workforce and have some experience in business.
A spokeswoman for the Ryan family last night said they wanted to "effect our father's lifelong desire to extend creative opportunity for ambitious young people".
Building a 10,000 sq ft premises will begin shortly and the first classes should start in the academic year 2000/2001, said the spokesman. A committee chaired by the chairman of Esat Telecom, Mr Denis O'Brien, is already seeking a director for the academy.
The overall project has been co-ordinated by Dr Edward Walsh, former president of the University of Limerick, and a company called Growcorp Ltd, which will manage the project until a director is appointed.
Dr Tony Ryan said the programmes would be "radical and unconventional". They will run over short periods and will generally result in diplomas from the academy. An M.Sc in technology management will be offered at the academy and will be awarded by UCD.
While the family declined to specify the size of the investment, it is understood from other sources the building will cost about £3 million, with the rest of the infrastructure costing about £2 million. The State may be asked for funding in later years to support some new programmes, the spokesman said.
The premises will be based in Citywest National Digital Park.