Projects focused on artificial intelligence, male infertility and solar panels are among those to benefit from a €2.5 million investment through the Research Ireland Industry Research, Development and Innovation Fellowship (IRDIF) Programme.
The investment will fund 28 fellowships and will enable researchers to undertake placements in 22 companies.
They will work on projects across diverse fields including AI for computational safety, sustainable materials for solar panels, cell-sorting system for addressing male infertility and developing multi-modal drug compounds for ulcerative colitis.
The industry partners collaborating on the programme will collectively contribute co-funding of over €1.7 million.
“Research Ireland’s Industry Research Development and Innovation Fellowship Programme is an excellent example of how the best of academic research and industry expertise can be brought together to tackle challenges and deliver impactful solutions,” said James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
“The initiative strengthens our national research ecosystem and highlights the importance of partnerships in fostering innovation that drives societal and economic growth,” Mr Lawless said.
Celine Fitzgerald, Interim CEO of Research Ireland, said the organisation is delighted to facilitate the new partnerships between academia and industry.
“The Research Ireland IRDIF Programme offers researchers unique opportunities to address industry-focused challenges, ensuring that the knowledge exchange drives research excellence and enhances the competitive advantage of the companies involved,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
The fellowships range in duration from 12 to 24 months.
The industry collaborators for the programme this year include 21 companies based in Ireland and one company from Toronto in Canada.
Taighde Éireann-Research Ireland is a new competitive research and innovation funding agency, established in August 2024, following an amalgamation of Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council.
