Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD, announced the first nine teams, including four UCD-led teams to receive Grow Phase funding under the €65 million National Challenge Fund.
The National Challenge Fund, a competitive programme managed by Science Foundation Ireland, aims to deliver solutions for major environmental and societal issues.
Funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Fund calls on researchers to identify problems related to Ireland’s Green Transition and Digital Transformation and work directly with those most affected to solve them.
The teams receiving funding today are split across two challenge areas. The 2050 Challenge seeks transformative, forward-looking solutions to current and future challenges for Ireland in becoming climate neutral and resilient by 2050. The Future Digital Challenge seeks to realise transformational societal and economic impact from disruptive digital technologies.
Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD said, “I am pleased to announce the first cohort of the National Challenge Fund project teams that are now finalists in this competition-based funding programme. This innovative, solutions-focused programme is a key driver in delivering research and innovation that makes a real and positive impact across society, the economy, and the environment, not just here in Ireland, but across Europe and around the world.”
The four successful UCD-led teams are
AI2Peat – (pictured) combining artificial and human intelligence for peatland monitoring - Dr Oisín Boydell, CeADAR with co-lead Dr Eoghan Holohan, UCD School of Earth Sciences. (Future Digital Challenge).
AI-Form - using artificial intelligence to accelerate nanomedicine development - Dr Nan Zhang, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and co-lead Professor Wenxin Wang, UCD School of Medicine. (Future Digital Challenge).
RESR – renewable energy storage for mobile applications - Dr Andrew Phillips, UCD School of Chemistry with co-lead Dr James Carton Dublin City University. (2050 Challenge).
STROHAB – using extended reality and artificial intelligence to allow for tele-rehabilitation for stroke patients - Professor Eleni Mangina, UCD School of Computer Science and co-lead Dr Jibraan Esoof. (Future Digital Challenge).
In addition Professor Mary Kelly Quinn, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science is co-lead on SubScrewHydro - low-cost fish-friendly micro-hydropower energy storage – with Professor Aonghus McNabola, Trinity College Dublin as lead. (2050 Challenge).
Since its launch, 96 teams have been funded through the National Challenge Fund, and today’s announcement sees the first nine teams become finalists in this competitive funding model.
The nine teams announced will have the opportunity for additional funding in the final phase of the programme, where prize funding of €1 million will be on offer to the most competitive teams under both the 2050 and the Future Digital Challenges.
Dr Ciarán Seoighe, Acting Director General, SFI, said, “The National Challenge Fund is a fast-paced funding programme that supports research teams to work directly with the key stakeholders most impacted by their research. I am excited to see these nine teams continue to develop their real-world, tangible solutions in concert with the societal impact champions who have helped shape their research focus.”
EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness, said, “I am delighted to see the progress of the National Challenge Fund teams over the last 18 months. They’re showing what benefits EU funding can bring. The teams are working directly with those most impacted by the climate and digital transitions, to come up with the innovative solutions that we need for a more sustainable future – which will help both Ireland and the European Union as a whole. I wish these teams every success as they progress to the next phase of funding.”
Each of the nine teams is being awarded up to €500,000 funding for the next 12 months. They will spend the next year advancing prototyping activities and demonstrating how the solutions they are developing can create tangible value by addressing the specific societal needs identified and refined in the previous phases of the funding programme.
Minister O’Donovan TD added, “I look forward to following the progress these teams of leading researchers make over the next 12 months as they continue to progress their projects that will unlock the transformational potential of digital technologies and support Ireland’s commitment to becoming climate neutral. I am working to ensure continuity on funding calls previously run by SFI and IRC over the coming months, as Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland commences its operations.”
Further information on all the nine successfully teams visit: https://www.sfi.ie/research-news/news/minister-odonovan-4.5-mil/
The National Challenge Fund is a €65 million research fund established under the Government of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), developed by the Government so that Ireland can access funding under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. Ireland is expected to receive €988 million in grants under the Facility. https://www.sfi.ie/challenges/National-Challenge-Fund/