Ninth Level Ireland

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today (Friday 7 May) announced €23 million in funding for a programme for post-doctoral researchers to become research leaders. The investment, which is a joint initiative between Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC), will see some 40 early career researchers, across all disciplines, supported to develop cutting-edge projects through awards of up to €550,000 over a four-year period …” (more)

[gov.ie, 6 May]

“The Government is investing €9 million to boost the research capacity of technological universities and institutes of technology in the area of science and technology. The move will include the funding of replacement lecturers for academics involved in successful research applications, as well as between 20 and 40 PhD students overall …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 15 April]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today (Thursday) announced details of the Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for Partnership Awards programme, which aims through an investment of €9 million to increase research capacity within Technological Universities (TUs) and Institutes of Technology (IoTs) …” (more)

[MerrionStreet.ie, 15 April]

“Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of applications for SFI funded PhDs in the past five years; the number of awards that were granted; the trends for both the applications and the awards; if this trend was caused by a funding issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 31 March]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today (Monday) announced €5.2 million in funding to support 49 projects as part of Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Programme. The funding will support a number of exciting projects including supports for deaf and hard of hearing people who wish to learn Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths, or Girls Coding which seeks to address imbalance by encouraging, facilitating, and providing opportunities to teenage female students to engage with Computer Science …” (more)

[DFHERIS, 22 March]

“I realised today that I hadn’t yet posted a reaction to the announcement earlier this month by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) of a new five-year strategic plan. Although much of the document Shaping Our Future is fairly bland – as strategic plans usually are – there are some very welcome things in it …” (more)

[In the Dark, 21 March]

“Science has demonstrated its capacity to deliver in responding to Covid-19. Effective vaccines were developed in a less than a year while scientists contributed hugely to the global response to the pandemic. At the same time, the sector now has a place at the Cabinet table via minister Simon Harris and his new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science …” (more)

[Irish Times, 4 February]

“Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD have today (Monday) launched Science Foundation Ireland’s new five year strategy. Shaping our Future sets out ambitious actions and targets to deliver reform today and protect us for the challenges of the future …” (more)

[gov.ie, 1 March]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris has today announced an investment of €193 million in five Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres for six years. Lero, the SFI Research Centre for Software, led by University of Limerick (UL) and ADAPT, a SFI research centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology led by Trinity College Dublin in partnership with Munster Technological University (MTU) and other universities and institutes of technology across the country are among those to benefit …” (more)

[Nicole Glennon, Irish Examiner, 1 February]

“The State is to invest €193 million over six years into research on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, ethics and data privacy, smart medical devices, e-health and telecommunications. Announcing the €193 million investment in five Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) research centres, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said it reflected Ireland’s position as a world leader in research and innovation …” (more)

[Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 1 February]

“Sir, – According to the 2019 annual report of Science Foundation Ireland, €5 million was spent on 47 Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education projects, and €189 million was spent on scientific research. However, not one euro was invested in research that would seek to support how science is taught and learned throughout primary, secondary and tertiary levels in Ireland …” (more)

[Aishling Flaherty, Irish Times, 22 January]

“Before Christmas, Ireland’s new Department for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science embarked on a consultation about its strategy for 2021-23. Like most other departments, the Department of Theoretical Physics at Maynooth made a collective submission to this consultation and we await further developments …” (more)

[In the Dark, 4 January]

“Many Irish people do not want to return to the way they worked or commuted before Covid-19 and want a greener alternative. That is according to a national survey of 1,000 adults conducted last month by Science Foundation Ireland to mark Science Week 2020 …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 November]

“A broad range of Irish scientific research is to be supported by the latest round of Science Foundation Ireland’s Frontiers for the Future programme – 71 research grants totalling €53 million have been allocated for work to be carried out in 12 higher education institutions …” (more)

[Kevin O’Sullivan, Irish Times, 4 November]

“Millions are set to be pumped into scientific research projects, ranging from anti-ageing to potential new treatments for Alzheimer’s and Crohn’s ­disease. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, announced 71 grants valued at €53m under the Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) ‘Frontiers for the Future’ programme …” (more)

[Eavan Murray, Independent, 2 November]

“Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the engagements he has had with Science Foundation Ireland in relation to its participation in the Department of Foreign Affair’s Ireland House strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 21 October]

“Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris today promised a ‘bright new era for research in Ireland’, saying that Ireland’s recent achievements in research funding should ‘only make us more ambitious’ …” (more)

[Jane Cook, University Times, 16 September]

The full (draft) Programme is here; extracts related to third level are here.

“Earlier this week Cambridge University in the UK announced that all its courses will be delivered online for the next academic year. The decision followed immediately on a warning from England’s university regulator, the Office of Students, on the need for ‘absolute clarity’ for students making academic plans …” (more)

[Joan Donegan, IFUT, 21 May]

“Irish universities will struggle to ‘compete’ in the sphere of online learning when it comes to attracting students over the coming years, a top research official has warned. Peter Clinch, the chairman of Science Foundation Ireland, said the ‘centralised’ approach to IT of Ireland’s universities means it will be difficult for them to implement ‘blended learning’ – a combination of online and in-person learning – in the coming months and years …” (more)

[Sárán Fogarty and Donal MacNamee, University Times, 15 May]