Seventy new ICT postdoctoral positions to give Irish research the EDGE

Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, Mr John Halligan, TD, has launched a new third-level ICT research programme that will recruit over 70 postdoctoral candidates to Irish Higher Education Institutes.

The programme, known as EDGE, is co-funded by the European Union under the prestigious Marie Skodowska-Curie initiative and Science Foundation Ireland. EDGE will be delivered as a partnership of three Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres which are multi-institutional but hosted out of Trinity College Dublin: CONNECT, AMBER and ADAPT.

The current call for applicants is open until 1st December 2016 with the first EDGE Fellows beginning their work in June 2017.

Speaking at his visit to the Trinity College Dublin SFI Research Centres, Minister Halligan said “Technology is evolving rapidly and it is vital that Ireland maintains a lead in this critical area. The EDGE programme will develop world leading researchers in this field and help Ireland compete for jobs and investment in the future. An attractive feature of EDGE is the focus it places on advanced training and career development. I am also glad to see that EDGE is emphasising the importance of public engagement and communicating research outcomes to public audiences.”

Inviting applicants Richard Twohig, EDGE Programme Manager at Trinity College Dublin, said: “We expect serious competition for these positions. The global research community recognises Marie Skodowska-Curie fellowships as highly prestigious. We are seeking to attract talented individuals to work alongside Ireland’s best researchers and tech industry partners. The research topics are at the intersection of three exciting areas: advanced materials, digital content and telecommunications.”

Vice President and Dean of Research at Trinity, Professor John Boland, welcomed the news of the creation of 70 postdoctoral posts. He said: “This represents a significant opportunity to attract the best international talent into this important research area.”

Professor Linda Doyle, Director of the CONNECT Centre which is leading the initiative, discussed the implications of the EDGE programme saying: “The EDGE programme will help make Ireland a global hub for ICT research. There has already been strong interest from high-calibre postdoctoral researchers from around the world. The successful candidates will strengthen our existing research groups and provide new collaboration opportunities with industry partners and other research institutes internationally.”

Welcoming the launch of the programme, Dr Ruth Freeman, Director of Strategy and Communications at Science Foundation Ireland, said: “This is a great example of SFI Research Centres working together to leverage non-exchequer funding for Irish research. EDGE has been awarded €6 million by Horizon 2020, the EU’s €80 billion research and innovation funding programme. This matches €7 million already pledged by the three SFI Research Centres, CONNECT, AMBER and ADAPT.”

“In addition, by offering industry secondment opportunities to the successful candidates, the EDGE programme will further strengthen the relationship between industry and Irish research.”

Additional information on the EDGE programme can be found at http://edge-research.eu/