Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Patrick O’Donovan TD has announced €27.5 million in funding for 290 projects under the Government of Ireland postgraduate scholarship and postdoctoral fellowship programmes.

The Government of Ireland schemes support exceptional early-career researchers to pursue cutting-edge research with world-class potential in any discipline across the sciences, engineering, arts and humanities. 

Minister O’Donovan TD, said: “Following the establishment of Research Ireland earlier this year, I am delighted to announce this very significant investment in top research talent. Ireland has a strong reputation for research and innovation and it is vital that we continue to invest in future research leaders who, together, can play a key role in addressing the many challenges we face and the opportunities open to us.

“The ability to attract and retain excellent researchers within Ireland is key to the success of our knowledge economy for the long-term, and the Government of Ireland programme supports this aim. I wish the many researchers supported under the 2024 programme every success with their projects.”

The highly-competitive programme enables the development of high-level skills and knowledge for current and future challenges across a variety of settings, including industry, the public sector, civil society and academia.

All awardees are based in Ireland’s higher education and research-performing organisations. The scheme is a unique facet of the Research Ireland portfolio, facilitating early-career researchers to lead on the development and implementation of their research idea. The investment this year will fund 210 postgraduate scholars and 80 postdoctoral fellows.

Celine FitzGerald, Interim CEO of Research Ireland, said: “Research Ireland is delighted to be making this major investment in new research talent. A diverse range of early-career researchers working across a spectrum of disciplines will benefit from this funding, including awardees funded by the programme’s valued partners. The 290 awardees have demonstrated through rigorous international assessment the quality of their projects and the capacity to contribute new insights and solutions to technological, scientific, environmental, social and cultural challenges.”

Fifty Awardees from UCD

Some of the UCD Postgraduate Scholarship Programme awardees include:

• Michele Derrico, Addressing Conspiracy Theories With Generative AI: Building Resilience in Social Networks via Strategic Inoculation.
• Caimin Mc Kenna, Next-generation space instrument development for gamma-ray astrophysics
• Colin Brock, Ecosystem engineers in overdrive: Examining deer impact on Irish biodiversity.
• Emma Cadoria, Developing novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of de novo SPG3A.
• Jiajia Wei, The effect of ionic liquids on bio-membrane and live cell elasticity and viscoelasticity by means of neutron scattering and atomic force microscopy.
• Mia McCalmont, The role of hypoxia and hypercapnia in a skeletal muscle exercise model.
• Nawal Ashraf, Lithium Niobate Templates for Electro-optics and Catalysis.

Some of the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme awardees include:

• Alexis Delamare, The Role of Desire in the Experience of Value: A Defense of Axiological Conativism.
• Anh-Quân Nguyen, The Agency, Emotions and Language of Climate Activism.
• Carline Klijnman, When Citizens Don’t Know Whom to Believe: Failures in the Testimonial Exchange of Political Information and Its Implications for Epistemic Democracy.
• Golla Ramesh, Asymmetric synthesis and applications of P-stereogenic compounds. 
• Grace Nolan, Assessing Public Perceptions and Knowledge of Irish Biodiversity.

Ten of the Government of Ireland postgraduate scholarships announced are made in collaboration with, and funded by, partner agencies. The agencies comprise the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Some of the successful postgraduate awardees supported by strategic funding partners include:

• Environmental Protection Agency Postgraduate Scholarship awardee Megan Reilly, Bees and multiple stressors: The impacts of a pesticide and nutritional stress on a solitary bee.
• The Department of Foreign Affairs Andrew Grene Postgraduate Scholarship in Conflict Resolution awardee Evans Amoako Amoah from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, whose project will examine farmer-herder conflicts in Ghana and investigate linkages between climate change, resource competition and food security in rural communities.
• DCEDIY Postgraduate Scholarship in Childhood Disadvantage in Ireland awardee Leah Halpenny, Two Year Follow-Up of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants Enrolled in a Pilot Randomised-Controlled Trial of Early Targeted Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus with Paracetamol.

Peter Brown, Director, Researcher Development, Research Ireland said, “The Government of Ireland programme is a flagship, highly-competitive scheme, nationally and internationally, that delivers a pipeline of exceptional early-career researchers to Ireland’s research and innovation system. The 2024 cohort showcases the impressive range and breadth of projects across the sciences, arts and humanities. The talented early-career researchers have an exceptional opportunity to lead their own research project and develop cutting-edge skills, knowledge and insights.

“In doing so, we boost the foundations for research and innovation in Ireland, for now and the future. Whether in industry, the public sector, civil society or our research institutions, our people are our most important resource and the Government of Ireland programme very much aims to develop this resource to its maximum extent.” 

To see the entire list of Government of Ireland programme 2024 awardees, visit www.gov.ie.