Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD, has today announced a €1.4 million investment in 15 awards through the SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship Programme.

The programme will support the temporary placement of academic researchers in 12 companies, to conduct research across a variety of areas including energy efficient communications networks, electrochemical sensors for rapid medical diagnostics, seaweed extract for use in cosmetics and health products, moorings for offshore wind platforms, and reducing cement’s carbon footprint using new generation low clinker cement technology.

Minister O’Donovan said: “I am delighted to announce the SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship Programme recipients, connecting academic researchers and industry partners to collaborate and mutually benefit from each other’s invaluable knowledge and expertise. Academic-Industry collaborations maximise the economic and societal impact of Irish State-funded research and resources, and foster impactful innovation. I look forward to seeing the achievements that will shape the years ahead.”

The industry partners collaborating on these awards will provide co-funding with a total value exceeding €1 million. Industry partners will benefit from the expertise of the Fellow, while Fellows are provided with an opportunity to be immersed into industry and gain relevant business knowledge and experience.

Dr Siobhan Roche, Director, Science for the Economy at Science Foundation Ireland, said: “Science Foundation Ireland is really pleased to support these academia-industry connections. This funding supports colleagues in academia to bring their research knowledge and skills to an industry partner and work collaboratively on solutions to industry‐informed challenges. The SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship Programme provides a unique opportunity for researchers, drives research excellence through knowledge exchange, and enhances the industry partners’ competitive advantage.”

 

UCD's SFI Industry RD&I Fellows are: 

Dr Kieran Brennan, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, working on the development of a cytometry-based platform to detect, sort and characterise extracellular vesicles from human plasma as a liquid biopsy technology, in collaboration with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences.    

Dr Ramon Varghese, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, working on SafeAnchor: Robotically Drilled Subsea Micropile Anchors for Floating Wind Farms, in collaboration with Subsea Micropiles Ltd.

Dr Syed Ahmad Hasan, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics, working on reducing mooring loads for offshore wind platforms, in collaboration with Dublin Offshore Technology. 

 

Fellowships can have a duration of between one and 12 months if full-time, and between two and 24 months if part-time. Fellows are from nine higher education institutes, including Trinity College Dublin, University of Galway, University of Limerick, University College Dublin, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Science, Technological University of the Shannon, University College Cork, Atlantic Technological University, and Dublin City University.

The collaborating industry partners include: Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), GlasPort Bio Ltd., Subsea Micropiles Ltd., EireComposites, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Dublin Offshore Technology, Ecocem, Eblana Photonics, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, NEG8 Carbon, and Bantry Marine Research Station.

 

Applications for the 2024 SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship call are now open - deadline for submissions is 26 June 2024. For more information on the SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship Programme, visit the programme webpage SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship Programme.

See the full list of Fellows for the current programme:

Research Body	Proposal Title	Lead Applicant	Industry Partner	Award Amount
University of Galway	Methane mitigation using peroxide-based additives: Effect of substrates composition and rumen changes	Alejandra Villa	GlasPort Bio Ltd.	€91,641.76
University of Limerick (UL)	Advancing Polyimide Thin Film Processing for High Voltage Applications	Amit Kumar	Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI)	€90,472.93
University of Limerick (UL)	ChemiSorb: development of solid chemisorbents to enable Direct Air Capture of CO2	Andrey Bezrukov	NEG8 Carbon	€90,237.16
RCSI University of Medicine and Health Science (RCSI)	MVR: Modelling Mitral Valve Realities - A Framework for Creating a Virtual Patient Population for Finite Element Analysis	Hyab Mehari Abraha	Withheld	€91,513.90
University College Dublin (UCD)	The Development of a Cytometry-based Platform to Detect, Sort and Characterise Extracellular Vesicles from Human Plasma as a Liquid Biopsy Technology	Kieran Brennan	Beckman Coulter Life Sciences	€93,986.84
Dublin City University (DCU)	Development of integrated optical sources for high capacity and energy efficient Data Centre, Access & 6G Networks	Liam Barry	Eblana Photonics	€123,286.80
Technological University of the Shannon (TUS)	A Comparative Study on the Mechanical and Fracture Toughness Performance of Eco-Friendly Recyclable Composites Reinforced with Natural Materials	Mohamad Alsaadi	EireComposites	€101,307.72
University of Galway	Bio-Interface development for application as electrochemical sensors for measuring analytes in blood	Rakesh Kumar	Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI)	€90,472.93
University College Dublin (UCD)	SafeAnchor: Robotically Drilled Subsea Micropile Anchors for Floating Wind Farms	Ramon Varghese	Subsea Micropiles Ltd.	€79,813.63
University College Cork (UCC)	Sustainable Biorefinery Setup for the Recovery of Fucoidan from Cultivated Brown Seaweed for Industrial Applications	Rochak Mittal	Bantry Marine Research Station	€88,952.91
Trinity College Dublin (TCD)	Passive Autoclave Thermal Cycle Detection	Sayuj Sasidharan	Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI)	€80,194.21
Dublin City University (DCU)	Understanding the impact of changes to complex basal media components on CHO cell biology and utilising novel Process Analytical Technology to determine biomass in a microcarrier process	Selvaprakash Karuppuchamy	BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.	€88,106.14
Atlantic Technological University (ATU)	Making ACT binder with Irish materials and optimizing it for Irish concrete	Suhaib Salawdeh	Ecocem	€105,844.70
University College Dublin (UCD)	Reducing mooring loads for offshore wind platforms	Syed Ahmad Hasan	Dublin Offshore Technology	€92,035.22
University of Galway	PHAs as delivery carriers for cattle feed supplements	Tania Palmeiro-Sanchez	GlasPort Bio Ltd.	€94,551.39

 

Photo credit: Jesse De Meulenaere on Unsplash