On Monday December 6th the IUA launched a new brochure entitled “Attracting Talented Researchers to Ireland – A Review of the Marie Curie Programme”.
The purpose of the publication is to illustrate how researchers in academia and industry in Ireland have successfully secured funding from Europe in the Marie Curie Programme and to highlight the impact this has had in furthering their R&D ambitions.
European R&D funding has been instrumental in raising the quality and quantity of research in Ireland in our universities, institutes of technology, national research bodies and companies. The Marie Curie Programme is a key European instrument that funds excellent researchers and we were pleased that many of those featured in the brochure were present at the launch.
The brochure was produced as part of the ongoing promotional activities of the IUA which is the National Contact Point for the Marie Curie Programme. The office has supported researchers in bringing in over €60m since 2002. This is an outstanding result as it is over three times what would be expected, given the size of the research population in Ireland. It demonstrates how researchers in Ireland “punch above their weight” in an internationally competitive environment. It is important to understand that this programme awards funds through a fiercely competitive process based on international peer review. Funded researchers have successfully competed against their peers from over 35 countries across Europe.
In the brochure a selection of success stories are presented of researchers funded during the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006) across highly diverse disciplines in academia and industry. These stories demonstrate the hugely positive impact that Marie Curie funding has had on research in Ireland. The Marie Curie Programme has distinct schemes for researchers at all career stages (PhD students to senior researchers), for expanding the R&D capability of organisations and for linking academia to industry.
The Seventh Framework Programme (2006 - 2013) has, over the next seven years, earmarked €4.727bn for Marie Curie schemes. We anticipate that researchers in Ireland will continue to compete successfully for Marie Curie funding.
Our future success in the programme will be an important part of the Government’s aim to develop a knowledge-based society, particularly through the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation. In particular, our positive experiences of the training of PhD students and attracting postdoctoral researchers through the Marie Curie Programme are helping shape the development of 4th Level Ireland and developing researcher careers in our universities.
The Irish universities are committed to doubling PhD numbers, developing sustainable research careers and forging strong lasting links with business and industry. Leveraging funds from Marie Curie to compliment national funding is a key strategy of the IUA. The IUA will continue to provide support to researchers in academia and industry to maximise Irish success in this programme.
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Attracting Talented Researchers to Ireland (PDF) File Size: 4Mb |