Enterprise Partnership Scheme (Postgraduate)

CLOSED


Important Update:

The EPS call open date will be delayed as work is ongoing to integrate all Irish Research Council calls within Research Ireland. Please check back regularly with the call page for updated timelines.

 

Overview

The Irish Research Council’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme is a unique national initiative linking excellent researchers in all disciplines to enterprise; in the context of this call, enterprise partners can range from multinational corporations to SMEs, non-governmental organisations, and, where justified, public sector agencies. The scheme provides researchers with the opportunity to pursue research in collaboration with enterprise while based at an eligible higher education institution.

Through this co-funded programme, postgraduate researchers develop new, advanced knowledge and skills linked with industry and employer needs. The programme trains early-career researchers for the diversity of employment opportunities in industry, the public sector and the non-government sectors. For the enterprise partner, the scheme provides a low-risk, flexible route to research talent and innovation in an area closely aligned with its strategic interests.

With consideration to national and global challenges, the involvement of those organisations, both large and small, who seek technological, social and sustainable solutions and opportunities for people and planet is welcomed.

Information for applicants

The award will support suitably qualified research master’s and doctoral candidates pursuing, or intending to pursue, full-time research in any discipline. The duration of these awards ranges from one to four years and comprise:

  • a stipend of €22,000 per annum;
  • a contribution to fees, including non-EU fees, up to a maximum of €5,750 per annum; and;
  • eligible direct research expenses of €3,250 per annum.

The logos below represent some enterprise partners that have expressed an interest in supporting researchers under this scheme. Their contact details can be found to the right of this page.

View the full list of potential enterprise partners here

Information for enterprise partners

  • An enterprise partner can be a company, registered charity, social, cultural or not-for-profit civic organisation, state-owned enterprise or an eligible public body* that will co-fund the researcher for the duration of the award.
  • The enterprise partner is expected to commit €10,000 annually towards the cost of funding the researcher.
  • The enterprise partner can be based nationally or internationally.
  • Eligible NGOs can request a fee waiver in respect of their contribution for the first year of the award. Waiver approval is subject to the availability of funding, is at the sole discretion of the Irish Research Council and may be offered on a ranked or limited basis, with priority given to organisations with limited resources.
  • If your organisation would like to feature on this page in order to attract researchers, please send your details to schemes@research.ie.

How to apply

Potential applicants should carefully read the 2025 Call Document (coming soon) to ascertain whether or not they are eligible to apply. Indicative versions of the applicant, academic supervisor and enterprise mentor forms will be provided for information purposes only. All participants must create and submit their forms via the online system.

Key dates

DeadlineDate
Call open12:00 (Irish time) 3 October 2024 (Delayed)
FAQ deadline 16:00 (Irish time) 7 November 2024
Applicant deadline16:00 (Irish time) 14 November 2024
Academic supervisor and enterprise mentor deadline16:00 (Irish time) 21 November 2024
Research office endorsement deadline16:00 (Irish time) 28 November 2024
Waiver deadline16:00 (Irish time) 31 January 2025
Call outcomeEnd of April 2025
Scholarship start date1 September 2025

Please note that the timings provided here are indicative and may be subject to change. If you do not find the answer to your query in the call documentation, you should contact the research office in your proposed institution which will provide information and clarification on the call. Research offices can send any queries they are unable to clarify to schemes@research.ie.

For reasons of transparency and fairness to all applicants, we will not enter into written or telephone correspondence with any individual about the assessment process or their eligibility to apply.

* An eligible public body is a public service body with specific scientific or cultural infrastructure that is integral to the conduct and completion of the proposed research. If a public body or higher education institution is an eligible research performing organisation, it is not an eligible enterprise partner under this scheme.

Data Protection Notice

Please read our updated Data Protection Notice.


Our use of cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set these optional cookies unless you enable them. Using this tool will set a cookie on your device to remember your preferences.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy page


Necessary cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.


Analytics cookies

We'd like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone.