2020
Funding awarded to seven UCC enterprise-focused research projects
Seven UCC researchers are to receive funding and support for their enterprise-focused projects under an Irish Research Council initiative.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, this week announced an investment of 鈧4.3 million in a total of 50 enterprise-focused research awards, as part of the IRC鈥檚 Enterprise Partnership Scheme.
Now in its 15th year, the IRC鈥檚 Enterprise Partnership Scheme supports collaborations between early career researchers and enterprise on co-funded projects. This year鈥檚 awards will cover topics including the areas of health, food production, law, agriculture, and heritage.
Announcing the investment, Minister Harris said that the scheme will provide 鈥渁 valuable opportunity for enterprise and employers to access research talent and expertise within Ireland鈥檚 higher education system鈥.
鈥淭he research will cover a broad range of areas, including sexual violence, the delivery of healthcare, how we produce better dairy products, the impact of jellyfish blooms on salmon aquaculture in Ireland, and how we improve bone health in jockeys,鈥 he added.
The UCC researchers announced as part of this year鈥檚 scheme are as follows:
- Aoife O鈥機onnell (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
- Gordon Rumley (Law)
- Hannah Brownlow (Marine Biology, Freshwater Biology)
- Jun-Hyeok Yu (Agricultural Biotechnology)
- Kelsey White (Microbial Genetics)
- Nicola O'Riordan (Industrial Biotechnology)
- Orla Lynch (Organic Chemistry)
Commenting on the news, Professor Anita Maguire, Vice-President for Research & Innovation at UCC said:
鈥淚 wish to congratulate the recipients of these prestigious awards, which provide the early career researchers with a very valuable opportunity to undertake world-leading research in their discipline, in collaboration with an enterprise partner.
鈥淚n addition to providing the recipients with first-hand experience of engaging with enterprise, which is invaluable to them in developing their future careers; these collaborative research engagements, supported by the IRC EPS, are strategically important in strengthening the academic-industry interface more broadly.鈥