The EDGE postdoc training programme, led by Connect, the SFI Research Centre for Future Networks & Communications, has won the 2019 Engineering Education Award at the annual Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards. EDGE is a collaboration of three SFI Research Centres, based at Trinity College Dublin: CONNECT, AMBER and ADAPT, and is co-funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.

Since its launch in 2017, EDGE has attracted 45 top class researchers to Ireland from 17 countries. The goal of the programme is to form the next generation of thought leaders in ICT engineering.

Welcoming news of the award, Professor Linda Doyle, Dean of Research in Trinity College Dublin and PI for the EDGE programme said: “EDGE richly deserves this honour: it is a creative programme and places the needs of its Fellows at the core of its mission. It is contributing to making Ireland a world leader for ICT research by attracting top talent to colleges around the country. It is also a great example of SFI Research Centres working together to leverage non-exchequer funding for Irish research.”

Professor Luiz DaSilva, Director of Connect, SFI Research Centre for Future Networks & Communications, congratulated the EDGE team: “This Engineering Education Award is an acknowledgement of the distinctive nature of the EDGE programme. In addition to pursuing top-class interdisciplinary research, the participating Fellows have opportunities to work in industry and avail of a comprehensive suite of training in essential transferable skills such as leadership development. EDGE also places a strong focus on female empowerment, running an innovative Women’s Leadership Programme. It is most deserving of this award and I congratulate the EDGE Fellows, their supervisors, and the steering committee. In particular, I congratulate Kevin Fraser (EDGE Programme Manager), and Linda Ryan (Training and Development Officer).”

EDGE Fellows are recruited through competitive peer review of a research proposal and placed in research areas of vital importance to the Irish economy: Future Networks and Communications; Digital Content & Media Technologies; and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering.