Maynooth University researchers secure SFI Industrial Research Fellowships
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD has announced funding to support five new industry–academia partnerships through the Science Foundation Ireland Industry Fellowship Programme at Maynooth University.
Conor Cahalane, NCG, Mohammad Karzand, Hamilton Institute, Paul Lewis, NCG, Gavin McArdle, NCG and Timothy McCarthy, NCG have all secured SFI Industrial Research Fellowships. The SFI Industrial Fellowship gives the opportunity to gain important first-hand experience in a commercial research environment, while also providing industry with access to highly specialised trained researchers. The aim of the programme is to increase levels of collaboration between industry and academia.
Announcing the funding, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said: “A key part of our Action Plan for Jobs is delivering measures to deliver more commercial outcomes and ultimately jobs from the excellent research infrastructure we have built up over recent years. The SFI fellowships are an important measure in delivering this, by providing funding to research projects working directly on solutions to problems that particular companies are facing. In this way, we can support researchers who are working on projects which can ultimately be developed into commercial ideas and employment – turning good ideas into good jobs.”
Details of the Maynooth University projects supported:
| Name of Fellow | Industry Partner | Title of Proposal |
| Conor Cahalane, NCG | Tech Works Marine Ltd | Development of automated coastal bathymetric methodology using applied Remote Sensing techniques |
| Mohammad Karzand, Hamilton Institute | Bell Labs Ireland | Rateless Coding in the Cloud |
| Paul Lewis, NCG | Pavement Management Services Ltd | Novel LiDAR Web services for mapping & monitoring Road Network Infrastructure |
| Gavin McArdle, NCG | IBM - IBM Smarter Cities Technology Centre | Simulating Human Mobility in Dublin |
| Timothy McCarthy, NCG | TreeMetrics Ltd | Delivering innovative geospatial information services for foresty applications based on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensor data fusion |
Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland said, “The Industry Fellowship programme is an important element of SFI’s Agenda 2020 which aims to build strategic partnerships between industry and academic institutions, to encourage cutting-edge research and further grow Ireland’s competitive advantage. The awards will provide academic researchers with practical working knowledge of relevant business drivers as well as legitimate industry experience and important industry contacts. Industry partners participating in the programme will gain from the up skilling of staff and input into their research and development. The partnerships will in turn provide an important stepping stone for fuelling future collaborations between industry and academia.”
Under the SFI Industry Fellowship programme 20 research projects were funded to a total of €1.7million as follows: National University of Ireland Maynooth (5), University College Dublin (5), National University of Ireland Galway (3), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (2), University College Cork (2), Trinity College Dublin (1), Tyndall National Institute (1) and University of Limerick (1).
The programme is funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Science Foundation Ireland.
Further information available from SFI here.