25 Irish-French research collaborations receive funding



Posted: 17 June, 2019

The Irish Research Council and the Embassy of France have announced the projects that have received funding as part of the Ulysses programme today. The programme is designed to foster new collaborations between Ireland- and France-based researchers.

Funding of up to €5,000 per collaboration was awarded – with each researcher receiving a maximum of €2,500 to cover travel and living expenses.  The funding provided covers the costs of travel visits over the course of one year, and aims to facilitate the exchange of innovative ideas and approaches between researchers working in Ireland and France.

This year, for the first time, a number of high-profile semi-state, public sector and private sector organisations in Ireland and France have committed to offering specific researcher opportunities to selected research projects as part of the programme. These strategic partners include:

  • The Health Research Board have partnered with Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, to support four funded research projects focusing on patient-oriented and clinical research, population health or health services research.
  • The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, provided support to three research projects exploring topics relating to energy.
  • Electricity transmission system operator EirGrid have partnered with French-based Réseau de Transport d’Électricité to support a suitably-aligned research project in the area of renewable energies and smart grids.

In total 50 researchers were supported under the Ulysses research funding scheme. Some of the collaborations included:

  • Richard Roche from NUI Maynooth and Francis Eustache from École Pratique des Hautes Études. Richard and Francis worked on a research project exploring the effectiveness of a therapy programme for adults with dementia.
  • Manel Zarrouk from NUI Galway and Nicolas Ballier from University of Paris Diderot. They worked together on a project identifying linguistic features and integrating them within an AI system, to help asses writing by English language learners.
  • Cliona O’Farrelly from Trinity College Dublin, and Darragh Duffy from Institut Pasteur. They collaborated on a project identifying mechanisms and characteristics of innate resistance to viral infection.

Commenting on the 2019 call for funding proposals, Eavan O’Brien, Assistant Director of the Irish Research Council, said: “The Ulysses programme is one of the longest-running research funding programmes the Council is involved in, and we are delighted to launch it again this year for the 22nd time. The programme is a great opportunity for researchers to collaborate, exchange ideas and widen their professional networks. It also plays a key role in our own international strategy and our commitment to fostering relationships with our international partners.”

Also commenting, Stéphane Crouzat, ambassador of France to Ireland said: “Congratulations to all laureates of the 2018 Ulysses call for projects, the 21st edition of this research funding programme operated by the Embassy of France in Ireland and the Irish Research Council. This year marks the beginning of a new chapter in this successful cooperation with the involvement of six strategic partners, including industry operators and funding agencies and I am delighted to announce that the partnership will continue for the 2019 call for projects which opened on 17th June 2019.”

 New Call now open

The Council announced the opening of the new Call for Ulysses today. People interested in applying for the scheme can do so by completing an application form and emailing the relevant attachments to ulysses@research.ie

The deadline for applications is 25th September 2019. Further information and the relevant forms for the call can be found here.

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