Young researchers to receive €6 million in funding

A group of 80 young researchers have received an important boost, with the announcement that they are to share funding worth €6 million to help them pursue their research goals.

The funding comes via the Irish Research Council, under its 2015 Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme.

The fellows will work in host higher education institutions in Ireland, with internationally recognised mentors and research teams, said Dr Eucharia Meehan, director of the council.

The competition for these awards was fierce, with 535 applicants to the programme, which resulted in a success rate of only 15 per cent.

Most of the fellows are involved in science, technology, engineering and maths, but there are also awards for fellows working in the arts, humanities and social sciences, Dr Meehan said.

‘Cultivate innovative people’

The awards would "cultivate creative and innovative people" within the Irish higher education system, said Minister of State for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English.

Mr English said that it was noteworthy that five of the recently announced European Research Council awardees based here were former postdoctoral fellows supported by this scheme.

Dr Meehan said that the funding is designed to help young researchers to build a research presence and to target areas of interest.

The programme supports research considered excellent by the international reviewers who assess the research proposals.