Galway is emerging as an international centre of excellence for manufacturing and research in the medical and biomedical sectors. Overseas companies in Galway include Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Tyco, Hewlett Packard, Nortel, SAP and Fidelity.
Galway has two major third level institutions, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), which together in Galway City, have a total student population of close on 22,000.
NUIG has 12,000 full-time and 3,000 part-time students in seven faculties. NUIG has world-class research centres in regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, bioprocessing, applied optics, laser applications, diagnostics, web technology and power electronics.