The Irish government is investing in a new initiative to encourage leading scientists and engineers to move to Ireland. William Harris, director-general of Science Foundation Ireland, explains.
In 1938, the prime minister of Ireland, Eamon de Valera, invited Erwin Schrödinger to join the newly established Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin. Today, the Irish government is echoing this lead with a new initiative. In February 2000, following an investigation by the Irish Technology Foresight panel into the issues pertaining to basic research in Ireland, the Irish government established Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Its remit is to attract world-class research scientists and engineers in information and communications technology (ICT) and biotechnology to academic appointments in Ireland. Under the Irish National Development Plan 2000-2006, SFI was allocated €646 million. It has been charged with investing this money in individuals who are most likely to generate new knowledge, leading-edge technologies and competitive enterprises. The intention is that SFI will help Ireland to diversify, and its economy to grow, by recruiting and retaining creative individuals with advanced research experience in areas that are critical to the development of a knowledge-based economy. By the end of 2002, SFI had committed approximately €152 million to projects and teams working in these areas.
SFI recognizes that the future competitiveness of the Irish economy will be increasingly based on the quality of the intellectual capital available to stimulate innovation, excellence and entrepreneurship. Therefore, its aim is to use the resulting capability to create a reservoir of ideas, skills and talent that will profit Ireland in the future. To meet this goal, SFI is working in partnership with all tertiary educational institutions in Ireland, both to raise the quality of research and to increase the amount carried out. The best way to achieve this is by investing in creative and successful teacher-scholars who are in these institutions, and who have been selected on a competitive basis. The focus is on enhancing Ireland’s strengths in the fields that underpin biotechnology and ICT, as these fields currently promise more than others to drive scientific and economic advancement in the decades ahead.
About SFI’s programmes
Since its establishment, SFI has developed five flexible programmes for making its grants and awards. SFI Fellow Awards are five-year awards to attract senior, distinguished researchers to Ireland in the fields underpinning biotechnology and ICT; the grants are normally up to €1 million or more per year. Investigator Programme Grants are four-year awards to recruit leading researchers in the science and engineering sectors that underpin biotechnology and ICT. These grants can be as large as fellowships, but are usually between €100,000 and €250,000 per year. Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology Grants – Campus-Industry Partnership (CSET) – have been established to fund researchers who will build collaborative efforts that develop internationally competitive research programmes together with researchers from industry. Such grants can be valued at up to €5 million per year initially, for up to five years, and they are to support research partnerships linking scientists, engineers and industry. E T S Walton Visitor Awards (named after Ireland’s Nobel prize winning accelerator pioneer) have been instituted with the aim of bringing international researchers to Ireland for periods of up to one year. These grants usually total €200,000 per year, including salary, laboratory and moving expenses. SFI Workshop and Conference Grants are set up to support events either sponsored by or involving Irish scientists and research bodies that reach an international scientific audience.
SFI has initially concentrated on assessing research activities within Ireland’s R&D community, and establishing and completing the funding for a core set of internationally competitive research programmes. Grants and awards to successful researchers are made after a process of international peer review of research proposals by distinguished scientists and engineers. The reviewers apply the criteria approved by SFI’s board – namely, quality of the idea, quality of the recent track record of the researcher, and strategic relevance of the research.
In summary, SFI is seeking to support the continued growth and development of a thriving research base from which the country can benefit. Its aim is to support innovative and creative individuals in carrying out their work in Ireland, and we look forward to making additional investments in researchers in both ICT and biotechnology, using our grants and awards programmes.
Further reading
SFI issues calls for proposals at intervals throughout the year. Interested parties can subscribe on the SFI website at www.sfi.ie for e-mail alerts when calls for proposals are made. For further information, e-mail info@sfi.ie.
