Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has announced an investment of €4.3 million in 50 enterprise-focused research awards as part of the Enterprise Partnership Scheme.
The investment – funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC) – will go towards projects covering a range of areas from health and food production to law, agriculture and heritage.
In a press statement today, Harris said: “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.”
“We must continue to promote Irish research and offer our researchers every opportunity and every support. We must continue to support this type of engagement to attract foreign direct investment into our knowledge economy, to assist indigenous SMEs and NGOs to innovate.”
The Enterprise Partnership Scheme, which has operated for the past 15 years, encourages collaboration between enterprise, early career researchers and higher education institutions. The scheme aims to promote collaboration and links between the third-level sector and industry.
In a press statement, IRC Director Peter Brown said: “The Council has a long history of supporting early career researchers across all disciplines, and the Enterprise Partnership Scheme is a keystone of this ongoing mission.”
“By bridging research, industry and enterprise, this programme gives participating scholars and fellows a dynamic research opportunity, allowing them to gain experience of working on a project with enterprise impact and innovation potential, and providing insight into career paths beyond academia”, he added.
Harris has emphasised the importance of the role higher education plays in driving innovation since the beginning of his tenure as minister for higher education. In a video on Twitter in June, Harris said that the Department of Higher Education would have an “economic focus” and would “drive investment to our country”.
“I know only too well in light of the covid pandemic the huge pressures that there are to get people back to work, to help people upskill, to help people keep a job or gain a new job”, he said. “Research, innovation, science – these are the things that can help drive investment to our country and also can help businesses right across our country.”
