Innovate for Ireland Programme
Innovate for Ireland’s key objective is to attract world leading research and entrepreneurship talent to Ireland to conduct advanced, multidisciplinary PhD research to address global sustainability challenges.
A number of calls will operate under Innovate for Ireland. The first call, which is now open, is seeking applications from established Research Ireland awardees to rapidly create the first group of Innovate for Ireland iScholars – outstanding researchers with entrepreneurial qualities and a passion for sustainability. These iScholars will benefit from an increase in their stipend to a level of €28,000 for each year of their degree. Additional funding support for participation in the wider training and development parts of the Innovate for Ireland Programme will be provided at a later date (more information on these can be found below and in the call document).
The iScholars supported through this call will have an important role in the final development and success of the Innovate for Ireland Programme. As the first members of the iScholar community, they will have the opportunity to be ambassadors for the Programme, catalysing interest among and participation by other students in the wider research community.
As stakeholders in the Programme, they will be afforded a unique opportunity to inform key aspects of it, through providing early feedback on the design of the Entrepreneurial, Leadership & Innovation Programme and Innovation Ecosystem. This contribution will be recognised through the increased stipend that the iScholars receive.
To be eligible to apply, the Lead Applicant must be a holder of a qualifying Research Ireland award, the PhD project must be under one of the Innovate for Ireland thematic areas and the PhD student must have either started their PhD during 2024 or will start their PhD in 2024. Applications are welcomed for students working in any discipline. More information about these requirements can be found in the call document.
The deadline for applications to this call is Monday the 4th of November at 13:00 Dublin local time. Interviews of shortlisted candidates for the first call are expected to take place in early December 2024.
Innovate for Ireland is a unique global talent development programme, with the ambition to become one of the most transformational innovation and sustainability initiatives undertaken in Ireland in a generation. Innovate for Ireland is a Flagship Initiative of the Government’s Global Citizens 2030 strategy. Its objective is to achieve a step-change in Ireland’s innovation capability and develop solutions to global sustainability challenges through the recruitment and training of a global community of world-class researcher and innovators (the iScholars).
Over the next decade, it is envisioned that Innovate for Ireland will fund up to 1,200 doctoral scholarships with additional benefits, that will attract exceptional talent who may otherwise not have considered pursuing a PhD or, indeed, considered Ireland as a research destination for their doctoral studies. In order to deliver upon this vision, three pillars of activity will comprise the Programme, which all iScholars will participate in fully:
- PhD Research Scholarship Programme: iScholars will undertake advanced doctoral research at higher education institutions throughout Ireland that will deliver world class PhD training and supervision as part of agreed research projects to address global grand challenges.
- Entrepreneurial, Leadership & Innovation Programme: iScholars will undertake a world class, nationally delivered, multi-year, personal and professional development programme to equip them to thrive as entrepreneurial leaders who are catalysts for innovation and sustainable growth.
- Innovation Ecosystem: iScholars will participate in a cross-sectoral community of innovation leaders – building academic, professional and community networks that will amplify the impact of the Innovate for Ireland initiative. This will include an ambitious and vibrant cross-sectoral innovation network, including but not limited to an extensive range of informal learning activities such as mentorship and menteeship schemes, inspiration sessions, community activities, hackathons, cultural engagement, industry events and consultation groups, international conferences and awards programmes.
Innovate for Ireland will be delivered by Research Ireland and Global Innovators Ireland (GII), in partnership with academic and industry partners.
The overall Innovate for Ireland Programme supports research in the broad thematic areas of: Sustainable food and nutrition solutions; Clean tech, energy solutions and energy resilience; Impact of emerging digital technologies on human experiences; Deep tech and digital transformation; Digital technologies to resolve the challenges facing the natural world; Advanced green manufacturing - workplace of the future; Changing societies - adaptation in cities, communities, education, work and culture; Mitigating health impacts of climate change and pollution; Sustainable water, land use and natural resources management; Sustainable transport; Innovation in infrastructure; Green materials and the circular economy; New models of healthcare.
The main eligibility requirements to participate in this call are shown below, with more information provided in the call document:
- The Lead Applicant must hold a qualifying Research Ireland award (see call document for list) and must be an established investigator capable of supervising one or more students.
- The PhD project must be under one of the Innovate for Ireland thematic areas. Applications are welcomed for students working in any discipline.
- The PhD student candidate(s) must have either started their PhD during 2024 or will start their PhD in 2024 (based on their official date of enrolment/registration).
- The Research Body must ensure that the candidate(s) will have the time throughout the lifetime of their PhD to access and participate in the wider training and development activities, that will form part of the full Innovate for Ireland Programme. These will include the Entrepreneurial, Leadership & Innovation Programme and Innovation Ecosystem activities, as well as the potential for placements in enterprise and/or other non-academic establishments as part of the Programme. This participation should not impact on required activities within their PhD (research time, accredited institutional training modules, etc.).