15 April 2021: Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today (Thursday) announced details of the Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for Partnership Awards programme, which aims through an investment of €9 million to increase research capacity within Technological Universities (TUs) and Institutes of Technology (IoTs).  The new programme is now open to research proposals that are led by TUs or IoTs, with partners from the University sector.

Speaking about the programme, Minister Harris said, “I’m delighted to announce this new initiative to increase geographical involvement and research engagement across the country, building on the unique strengths of both sectors.  A key element of the programme is to increase research capacity in Technological Universities and Institutes of Technology by facilitating teaching replacement and increasing the number of PhD students.”

New funding has been provided to support the research.  With this funding and in line with SFI’s new strategy, SFI has developed a new stream to support research capacity, building Ireland’s Technological Universities and Institutes of Technology in partnership with their University counterparts.

The successful awards will be led by TU/IoT researchers and will support teaching buyout and the recruitment of PhD students. The budget for the programme is €700,000 in 2021 and there is a €9.1 million commitment over 5 years.  The awards will be between €500,000 and €1,000,000 over 48 or 60 months. The objectives of the SFI Frontiers for Partnership Award programme are: 

•           To increase the research capacity of TU/IoTs through the facilitation of teaching replacement

•           To increase the number of PhD students in the TU/IoT sector

•           To increase the geographical range of SFI’s funding portfolio

 

Full details of the programme, including an information webinar for potential applicants can be found here.