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The latest success for Irish research under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme has been announced, as €10m is awarded to create 100 high-value research jobs.
Ireland has managed to perform quite well under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme under Horizon 2020, with news coming earlier this month that Dundalk IT received €3m to lead a new water quality programme.
The MSCA programme is designed to support talent development and focuses on research mobility between countries and sectors, backed up by professional development and training.
Academia and industry partnerships
The latest results published by the EU for MSCA revealed that Irish researchers have been awarded €10m to create 100 high-value research jobs.
These jobs will be in major companies, civil society organisations, public bodies and higher education institutions, and were put forward by a partnership between the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and the Irish Research Council.
One of the successfully funded projects is Alcatel-Lucent, which will now be able to fund six research staff members to develop new automotive, aeronautics and energy generation technologies.
Meanwhile, Carlow-based TE Laboratories will collaborate with Dublin City University on a project concerning contaminated land site remediation, and with Teagasc on a project about soil and groundwater contamination.
€100m funded under programme
Since 2012, the partnership has secured €100m of European funding for Irish research, with MSCA being the top-performing area for Ireland in the current Horizon 2020 programme.
The pair said that a large portion of the funds will go to projects linking academia and industry across the indigenous and MNC sectors.
Around €1m will go towards supporting six dedicated research and innovation projects wholly within companies and civil society organisations.
Ned Costello, chief executive of the IUA said: “The support provided by the IRC is essential to the operation and successful performance of the Irish Marie Skłodowska-Curie office.
“It has facilitated the development and roll-out of a system of supports to maximise the success of research-active organisations in the MSCA, leading to the programme becoming number one for Ireland in Horizon 2020.”
