For Women in Science €19,000 fellowship open for Irish entries

1 Mar 2016

A fellowship programme for women from the UK and Ireland operating in STEM areas is currently open for applications, with five recipients to receive £15,000 (€19,000).

Called the For Women in Science (FWIS) fellowship, the UK and Ireland leg is now open to female postdoctoral researchers working in the fields of life and physical sciences, engineering, mathematics and computer sciences.

Accepting applications until 11 March, the project has been set up to help fund cutting-edge research, with no restrictions put on what the stipend is spent on.

There’s no age limit on applicants, but they must be EU citizens and be working or studying in the UK or Ireland.

Last year, one Irish lady, Dr Tríona Ní Chonghaile from UCD, received one of the five fellowships on offer for her work titled: ‘The development of a novel HDAC6 inhibitor that can kill chemo-resistant breast cancers.’

Worrying that just 30pc of the world’s researchers are female, and a number of “great barriers” turn many away from STEM studies, FWIS – run by L’Oréal and UNESCO – has established the International Rising Talents programme, which is designed to accelerate the advancement of young women in science globally.

Now in its 18th year, the L’Oréal-UNESCO partnership has grown into a global programme, with an international network of more than 2,000 women in more than  100 countries. The UK and Ireland fellowship, for its part, is in its 10th year.

“We are very proud to have changed the face of science by supporting women in science,” said L’Oréal’s Jean-Paul Agon.

“We are convinced that science and women bring hope and foster discovery, innovation and excellence. All the best talents must be called upon to accomplish this mission.”

Women Invent is Silicon Republic’s campaign to champion the role of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. It has been running since March 2013, and is kindly supported by Intel, Open Eir (formerly Eircom Wholesale), Fidelity Investments, Accenture and CoderDojo.

Main image via Shutterstock

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com