Galway, 22 March, 2024: Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centre for Software, today launched a €3.5 million postdoctoral fellowship programme which will recruit 19 world-class researchers to universities across Ireland.

The ROSETTA (Responsible Time and Tech in an Accelerated Digitised World) programme is funded by Lero, University of Galway’s J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics and the European Commission's Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND scheme. Details of the project were announced at the Regional Business Summit 2024 held in Galway. 

Led by Professor Kieran Conboy of Lero and University of Galway, this ambitious project will explore the relationship between technology and time. 

"Businesses, policy makers and regulators often highlight the great work they are doing in relation to responsible technology, and the term is used so much and so loosely it has lost a lot of its meaning. The ROSETTA fellows will have the freedom to challenge current assumptions around responsible technology, really scrutinise to what extent these ‘responsible’ efforts are real and to what extent they are effective. Through their work with Lero and their international industry placements they will improve the development and use of technology as well as directly inform new policy and regulation of responsible technology at national and European level,” explained Prof. Conboy, Principal Investigator of ROSETTA. 

The prestigious programme will see 19 ROSETTA fellows provided with the highest quality research environment and a training programme where they will critically examine the development, use and regulation of technology from a time perspective across all aspects of life from children, people with disabilities, people in the workplace, to healthcare and social inclusion for older people. 

Dr Siobhan Roche, Director of Science for the Economy at Science Foundation Ireland welcomed the announcement, saying: “SFI is highly focused on developing the best research talent to deliver tangible benefits today and into the future. In this important joint European project, the Lero SFI Research Centre will support collaboration in this cutting-edge domain, leading in the development of vital digital expertise. I congratulate the fellows, who will no doubt glean high value from their industry placements, with the potential to inform evidence-based policy making.” 

According to Lero Director, Professor Lionel Briand, the ROSETTA programme will further augment Ireland’s international software research reputation.

“The ROSETTA programme is an excellent example of Lero’s commitment to developing the tech leaders of the future who will not only examine software and digital technologies but also interrogate their impact on society. Ireland has the opportunity to become a world leader in regulation of technology and the work being done by Prof. Conboy and his Lero colleagues in the ROSETTA programme will be a cornerstone of that,” Professor Briand commented.

ROSETTA will be coordinated by University of Galway in collaboration with four other Irish universities; University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick and Trinity College Dublin. ROSETTA fellows will have the opportunity to undertake secondments at one of 20 associated partners spanning Europe and the United States.

 “Digital responsibility is one of J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics areas of research excellence and distinctiveness. The ROSETTA funding award is testament to the extensive digitalisation expertise of the leadership team here at University of Galway, and across the project research partners,” said Professor Alma McCarthy, Dean, J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, University of Galway

ROSETTA fellows will complete a secondment at one of 20 Associated partners across Europe and the US. Fellows will be recruited from the fields of business, law, computer science, medicine, biomedical engineering, education, psychology, software engineering, information systems, human-computer interaction and business.