The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, has announced €5 million in funding under the latest round of the Irish Research Council (IRC)’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme and Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme. The programmes provide candidates with the opportunity to collaborate with an enterprise or employer on a research project of mutual interest.
Announcing the latest IRC enterprise programmes’ awards, Minister Harris said: “I am delighted to announce the latest projects to be selected for funding under the Irish Research Council’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme and Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme. These co-funded programmes train early-career researchers for the diversity of employment opportunities in industry, the public sector and the non-government sectors. For enterprise and employment partners, the schemes provide a low-risk, flexible route to research talent and innovation in an area closely aligned with their strategic interests.
“It’s exciting to see the broad experience and benefits that these partnerships will give to researchers and their enterprise-employer partners. These collaborative projects will allow researchers to gain valuable experience in the early stages of their careers, while employers and enterprises will benefit from having fresh perspectives, expertise, new ideas and knowledge.”
Each year, the IRC partners with a wide spectrum of organisations, ranging from multinational corporations to SMEs, public-sector agencies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), under its Enterprise Partnership Scheme and Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme. Through both of these co-funded programme strands, postgraduate or postdoctoral researchers develop new, advanced knowledge, and skills linked with industry and employer needs.
Peter Brown, Director of the Irish Research Council, said: “The Enterprise Partnership Scheme and Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme are unique national initiatives linking excellent researchers in all disciplines to enterprise and employer partners. The programmes help to future-proof the careers and skills of academic researchers, while connecting employers with a high-quality pool of talent within Ireland’s research community. Researchers and employers benefit mutually. Researchers get exposure to sectoral challenges and how to address them from within a research setting. They get to work alongside some very talented and innovative people as well as industry mentors, who they can learn from; and this new knowledge can then be applied in their research and work.’
Dr Frances Drummond, Research Manager, Breakthrough Cancer Research, who will be collaborating with UCD's Aidan O'Dowling said: “The opportunity to partner with top-class researchers through the IRC’s enterprise programmes is of enormous value and benefit to Breakthrough Cancer Research. Working with excellent researchers who can apply their dedication, skills, expertise and time to finding new breakthroughs in cancer diagnosis and treatments meets a vital need for our organisation and for society. We commend the Irish Research Council and Ireland’s research community on the latest partnership awards.”
UCD Projects Awarded Funding:
Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme Scholars
Aine French, UCD School of Psychology, in collaboration with St John of God Hospital: ‘Sleep, suicidal behaviour, and emotional regulation in service users of an addiction rehabilitation service.’
Fiona O'Neill, UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, in collaboration with TheraDep ltd: ‘Drug Coating of Vascular Medical Devices Using Plasma.’
Veronica Merlo, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy, and Sports Science, in collaboration with Innovation Zed Ltd: ‘Using non-invasive wearable technologies to estimate glycemic values in individuals living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).’
Enterprise Partnership Scheme Postgraduate Scholars
Aidan O’Dowling, UCD School of Medicine, in collaboration with Breakthrough Cancer Research: ‘Multiparametric analysis of the pancreatic cancer microenvironment in response to neoadjuvant therapy.’
Lilian Kamowa, UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, in collaboration with World Vision Ireland: ‘Linkages of community based mechanisms for resilient nutrition sensitive climate smart approaches for adolescent girls and young women.’
Rachna Gowlikar, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, in collaboration with Plantik Biosciences: ‘Hemp-edit: Establishing CRISPR Genome Editing in Hemp.’
Silas Groeger, UCD School of Chemical Engineering in collaboration with Corning S.A.S. : ‘Development of continuous hydrogenation tools for green chemical synthesis.’
Enterprise Partnership Scheme Postdoctoral Scholars
Zixu Zhao, UCD School of Chemistry, in collaboration with Dublin Marigot Ltd: ‘Particle-Associated Exosomes and Corona for Therapeutic Benefit.’
Eoin Cunniffe, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy, and Sports Science, in collaboration with Hockey Ireland: ‘The physical determinants of ball speed in international male hockey players.’
Niamh McCullagh, UCD School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Office of the State Pathologist: ‘Searching for Missing Homicide Victims: Developing a Data Driven Model.’
Patrizia Colucci, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, in collaboration with Fighting Blindness: ‘Discovery and Development of Broad-Spectrum Drug Treatments For Inherited and Age-Related Blindness.’
Tapasya Narang, UCD School of English, Drama and Film in collaboration with National Library of Ireland: ‘Radical Poetics: A Comparative Study of Small Press Productions from Dublin and Bombay, 1960-1980’
For more information about Irish Research Council awards visit www.research.ie.