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 €4.3 million in a total of 50 enterprise-focused research awards, as part of the IRC’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme.
Now in its 15th year, the IRC’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme supports collaborations between early career researchers and enterprise on co-funded projects. This year’s 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 “a valuable opportunity for enterprise and employers to access research talent and expertise within Ireland’s higher education system”.
“The 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,” he added.
The UCC researchers announced as part of this year’s scheme are as follows:
- Aoife O’Connell (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:
“I 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.
“In 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.”