€14m Programme Launched To Attract Researchers To Ireland

The Government has launched a €14 million recruitment drive to attract international experienced researchers to Ireland.

The Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, announced an open call to recruit international highly-skilled researchers to work on collaborative projects in Ireland through Enterprise Ireland's new Career-FIT PLUS programme. Following the success of its predecessor, Career-FIT, 50 experienced research experts will be selected through two calls for proposals and hired for three years.

The Career-FIT PLUS fellowship programme is co-funded by the European Union, under the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions in partnership with Enterprise Ireland.

The aim of the programme is to enhance the training and career opportunities of the recruited fellows through the undertaking of individually-driven, market-focused research projects. The projects will be centered around the domain areas of the designated Technology Centres and Technology Gateways operating in Ireland and will include a mandatory secondment in the partner companies.

Minister John Halligan TD said: "Our aim is to support companies to attract the best international researchers to support increased innovation and research and development. The Career-Fit PLUS programme is a unique opportunity for companies to access international R&D talent to build on their existing capabilities and develop their product and service offering. The programme is one of many avenues available for companies to benefit under the Horizon 2020 programme and I would encourage companies to look at this and all other opportunities under Horizon 2020."

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said: "Innovation is a key driver of global growth for Irish companies and crucial to maintain competitiveness. Career-FIT PLUS aims to connect highly qualified researchers with Irish companies to support industry-focused research projects. Through programmes like Career FIT-PLUS, companies can undertake research and development to diversify and reach new international markets."

Gearoid Mooney, Divisional Manager, Research and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland added: "This programme contributes to addressing the skills shortage in Ireland’s companies in the field of RD&I, by attracting research experts from around the world to collaborate on projects with Irish enterprises. The Career-FIT programme launched in 2017, attracted 50 experienced researchers from 30 different countries, bringing expertise to 40 Irish companies. We are hoping to build on this success with the Career-FIT PLUS and encourage experienced researchers worldwide to apply."

Each project will consist of a tripartite relationship between the fellow, the host institution (i.e. universities, institutes and other research performing organisations) and the partner company.