A pledge of more than €25m to fund 27 research projects was made today, which the Government claims will help create new jobs in the smart economy.
The funding, pledged over the next five years, will benefit 139 third-level researchers across Ireland at work on schemes focusing on health, energy, agriculture, environmental protection and telecommunications.
The projects would help boost jobs as they focus on turning ideas into commercially viable schemes, said Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe.
“The wide range of projects on which the selected researchers are working capture the calibre of work under way in our higher education institutions,” he said.
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is awarding the funds, under its principal investigator programme, which supports work in the life science, information communications technology and sustainable energy sectors. The organisation supports more than 3,200 researchers working with some 400 domestic and international firms.
Among the partner companies involved in the research projects are Intel, Sigma Aldich, Seagate, ESB and Eirgrid.
SFI director general Prof Frank Gannon said that by selecting top-class researchers, partnerships with leading industries in the country can be developed.
