Minister Harris announces 27 grants worth €2.1 million for academic and industry collaborations
-
Ó: An Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta
- Foilsithe: 1 Aibreán 2022
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 12 Aibreán 2025
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, has today announced 27 new academic and industry research collaborations on behalf of Science Foundation Ireland, valued at €2.1 million.
The SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship Programme will support the temporary placement of academic researchers in 19 companies. These researchers undertake research projects across a variety of areas, including microbiology, virtual reality (VR), chatbots optimisation, biotechnology, coastal erosion, breast cancer, photodynamic therapy and more. The industry partners on these awards will provide co-funding with a combined value of €1.9 million.
Minister Harris said:
“I’m delighted to welcome this fellowship programme bringing together academic researchers and industry partners, to undertake collaborative research that will see them mutually benefit from each other’s invaluable knowledge and expertise. I want to commend Science Foundation Ireland for announcing this funding which will be important in developing some exciting research projects.”
Prof Philip Nolan, Director General SFI, said:
“We are delighted to offer this new fellowship programme to academic researchers looking to apply their knowledge in industry. At SFI, we are keen to be part of a framework that can enable researchers to seek and secure diverse career opportunities in areas such as industry, research funding and administration and government affairs. The applications to the programme have been incredibly strong and we are pleased to see such a high-calibre of projects coming to life.”
Those who are awarded fellowships can take them on a full-time basis between one and 12 months or on a part-time basis, between 2 and 24 months. The maximum award amount funded by SFI is €100,000. The programme was supported by IDA Ireland who see it as an enabler to innovation for their client companies.
The fellowship programme is designed to kick-start postdoctoral academic researchers’ careers in industry and to maximise the impact of their training. The programme also supports academic faculty researchers who want to spend time in industry alongside their academic responsibilities. Simultaneously, the placement will allow industry partners to benefit from their research fellows’ knowledge to collaborate on bringing innovative solutions to industry challenges.
Applications for the 2022 SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship call are now open with two submission deadlines. The first submission deadline is on 18 May 2022; the second submission deadline is on 19 October 2022.
Academics and industry partners awarded funding
| Research body | Proposal title | Researcher | Industry partner |
| University College Dublin | Emad Tandis | Bekaert | |
| University College Dublin | Ming Zhao | Lakeland Dairies Co Operative Society Ltd | |
| RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences | Petra Jagust | Remedy Biologics Ltd | |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Eimear O'Hara | Zimmer Biomet | |
| University College Dublin | Xiulong Bao | Antenna Company | |
| Trinity College Dublin | Reflective Spectroscopy Probe | Jorge Garcia | Miravex |
| Trinity College Dublin | Daire Tyndall | De Puy Ireland Unlimited Company | |
| Athlone Institute of Technology | Recovery of PEEK recyclate for use in orthopaedics | James Murray | De Puy Ireland Unlimited Company |
| University of Limerick | Balasubramaniam M | Analog Devices, Inc | |
| University College Cork | Majid Bhinder | Dublin Offshore Consultants Ltd | |
| Trinity College Dublin | Sahan Wasala | Seagate Technology LLC | |
| RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences | Karen Fox | KelAda Pharmachem Ltd | |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Marie Le Berre | Analog Devices, Inc | |
| Tyndall National Institute | Walter Messina | Boston Scientific | |
| University of Limerick | Ibrahim Saana Amiinu | Analog Devices, Inc | |
| Trinity College Dublin | Sojan Mathew | Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions Ltd (GDG) | |
| Trinity College Dublin | Sudhakara Naidu Neppalli | Kastus Technologies | |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Akash Pisharody | EireComposites Teo | |
| University of Limerick | Ahmad Ziaee | De Puy Ireland Unlimited Company | |
| University College Dublin | Mohammad Ali Ekhtiari | Gas Networks Ireland | |
| University College Dublin | Shen Wang | Huawei Technologies (Ireland) Co, Ltd | |
| Trinity College Dublin | James Duffy | Cellix | |
| University College Dublin | Srikumar Roy | Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions Ltd (GDG) | |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Lukasz Porwol | Fidelity Investments Ireland | |
| University of Limerick | Lilian MottiAder | Analog Devices, Inc | |
| Waterford Institute of Technology | Nima E. Gorji | Boston Scientific | |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Jamal Nasir | Fidelity Investments Ireland |