French and Irish researchers now eligible for up to €5,000 in funding

15 Jun 2018

Image: Aritra Deb/Shutterstock

French and Irish-based researchers who decide to work with each other will be eligible for up to €5,000 under the latest Ulysses research programme.

The Irish Research Council (IRC) and the Embassy of France have revealed details on a number of new partnerships between the two countries under the Ulysses research programme, which is designed to support collaborations between Irish and French-based researchers across all disciplines.

Under the scheme, grants of up €5,000 are available to researchers based in both countries for visits linked to mutual research projects.

Now in its 21st year, more than 600 researchers based in the two countries have furthered their research with some of last year’s topics, including exploratory data analysis for poetry and manganese-enhanced MRI as an early diagnostic technique for lung cancer.

One of this year’s selected partnerships is EirGrid working with French-based Réseau de Transport d’Électricité to support suitably aligned research projects in the area of renewable energies and smart grids.

Also, the Health Research Board will partner with Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, to support research projects focusing on patient-oriented research, population health or health services research.

Vive la collaboration

The call for applications opens from today (15 June) for any researchers based in either of the two nations, with the deadline set for 4pm IST on 19 September 2018 and a decision on funding to be announced in January 2019.

Under the agreement, the Irish and French-based research partner or partners from each of the nations will receive a maximum of €2,500 of the potential €5,000 total to cover travel and living expenses.

These awards are simultaneously receivable and must be used within the 2019 calendar year.

Speaking of this year’s funding, IRC director Peter Brown said: “The addition of our new strategic partners will add greatly to the success of the programme.

“Researchers at different career stages will be given the opportunity to collaborate on important topics that will contribute to new knowledge and innovation in our societies.”

Likewise, Stéphane Crouzat, ambassador of France to Ireland, added: “This expansion, 20 years after the launch of the first Ulysses funding scheme, demonstrates the vibrancy of scientific cooperation between France and Ireland as well as the strong partnership between the embassy and the IRC.”

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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