Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is inviting applications for industry fellowship programme to develop and support academic partnerships with industry. Fellowships can be for between 1 and 12 months in duration if full time or for up to 24 months if part time. The maximum Industry Fellowship award amount is €120,000 direct costs. Fellowships can be awarded to academic researchers wishing to spend time in industry worldwide and to individuals from industry anywhere in the world (including Ireland) wishing to spend time in an eligible Irish Research Body. Proposals can be submitted at any time.
Study Subject (s): Fellowships will enable access for researchers to new technology pathways and standards and will facilitate training in the use of specialist research infrastructure.
Course Level: This is a fellowship program.
Scholarship Provider: Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
Scholarship can be taken at: Where the direction of the Fellowship is Academia to Industry, the host location may be anywhere in the world (including Ireland). Where the direction of the Fellowship is Industry to Academia, the host location must be an SFI Eligible Research Body.
User Review
( votes)Eligibility:
Category A: An SFI award holder or recent SFI award holder:
-The Academic Partner must hold or have held within the past 5 years an SFI award as lead Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI under the following programmes: PI, SFI Investigators Awards and projects, PICA, RFP, SRC, CSET, SFI Research Centre, Stokes, Research Professor, PIYRA, SIRG, CDA, Charles Parsons, Mathematics Initiative, US-Ireland (excluding US-Ireland planning grant holders). Awards which expired before January 1st 2009 do not qualify an Academic Partner under this category.
-For applications being submitted from SRC’s, CSET’s and SFI Research Centres, co-PIs and funded PIs are eligible to apply under this category – team members of SRC’s, CSET’s and SFI Research Centres should apply under Category C. Applications from these awards must be endorsed by the award holder and submitted to SFI via the Applicant’s Research Body.
Category B: A Principal Investigator who has demonstrated research Independence:
-A Principal Investigator who has demonstrated research independence through securing at least one peer reviewed independent research grant worth over €200,000 as a lead investigator or co-investigator in the last 5 years (not including personal awards such as travel awards and career Fellowships). Awards which expired before January 1st 2009 do not qualify an Academic Partner under this category.
-Academic Partners who qualify under Category B must be pre-approved by SFI to participate in the Industry Fellowship Programme and must apply to the programme within 6 months of receiving confirmation of pre-approval
-In the case of large collaborative EU framework projects the co-PI/work package leader is eligible to apply as long as they are the lead-PI for their institution.
– Where the direction of a proposed Fellowship is Academia to Industry, the Principal Investigator qualifying under this Category is the only eligible Proposed Fellow (i.e. s/he may not nominate team members from his/her research team to apply as Prospective Fellows). There is no limit to the number appropriately justified incoming (Industry to Academia) Fellows.
Category C: A Team Member working in an SFI funded team: Applications are accepted from team members working in SFI funded teams who are interested in working in an industry environment. The team member will be able to request their own salary as part of the budget request. Team members nearing the end of an existing contract are particularly encouraged to apply to the programme, provided that the Fellowship is proposed to commence prior to completion of their contract. This will give the team member the opportunity to focus on the Fellowship full time for the duration requested.
-The team member must be working in an SFI funded team and their salary must be wholly funded by SFI.
-The team member must be committed to work full time on the Fellowship for up to one year full time or two years part time.
-The team member application must be endorsed by the SFI award holder through the provision of a letter of support
In addition to satisfying the eligibility criteria associated with one of Category A, B or C, the Applicant (whether submitting a proposal to act as a Host or as a Fellow) must satisfy the following criteria in all cases (where relevant):
-The Applicant must hold a PhD, M.D. or equivalent3.
-The Applicant must be an author on at least three internationally peer reviewed articles and must be senior author on at least one of these articles. Only original research publications, and not review articles, are acceptable.
-The Applicant must be a member of academic staff or a contract researcher. Academic staff or contract researchers who will be coming to the end of an existing contract are particularly encouraged to apply to the programme, provided that the Fellowship is proposed to commence prior to completion of their contract.
-Proposals are not accepted from Applicants who wish to be hosted in or receive Fellows from an organisation in which they have a financial interest or hold a decision making role.
-Where the direction of the Fellowship is Academia to Industry and the Academic Partner qualifies under Category A or C, up to two appropriately justified applications for Fellowships per SFI award are permitted. The exception to this is SFI SRC’s, CSETs and Research Centres, where more than two appropriately justified applications will be accepted.
-There is no limit to the number of appropriately justified incoming (Industry to Academia) Fellows.
Please note that Academic Applicants falling under Category C are eligible to apply only as a Prospective Fellow and not as a Host.
Scholarship Open for International Students: The Academic Partner must work in an eligible Irish Research Body (or must plan to move to an Irish Research Body prior to taking up an Industry Fellowship award). The Industry Partner however may come from any location worldwide.
Scholarship Description: Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is pleased to launch the Industry Fellowship Programme 2014 to develop and support academic partnerships with industry. The purpose of the Industry Fellowship Programme is to facilitate exchanges between academia and industry to stimulate excellence through knowledge transfer and training, thereby building critical mass in areas of strategic importance for Ireland and enabling economic and societal challenges to be tackled. Fellowships will enable access for researchers to new technology pathways and standards and will facilitate training in the use of specialist research infrastructure. Fellowships can be awarded to academic researchers wishing to spend time in industry worldwide and to individuals from industry anywhere in the world (including Ireland) wishing to spend time in an eligible Irish Research Body.
Duration of award(s): Fellowships can be for between 1 and 12 months in duration if full time or for up to 24 months if part time.
What does it cover? The maximum Industry Fellowship award amount is €120,000 direct costs.
In the case that the Academic Partner is the Prospective Fellow, the following costs are eligible:
-Salary or teaching buyout for the in situ duration of the award (for Fellowships of greater than 3 months in situ duration only).
Note that where a salary contribution for a postdoctoral researcher is requested, applicants should refer to the SFI Grants Team Member Budgeting Scale for the latest team member salary scales. -Travel and subsistence where appropriate.
In the case that the Industry Partner is the Prospective Fellow, the following costs are eligible:
-Travel and subsistence where appropriate
In addition to the direct costs, SFI also makes an indirect or overhead contribution to the applicant’s Research Body, which is reflected as a percentage of the direct costs. Overheads are payable as a contribution to the Research Body for the indirect costs of hosting or facilitating SFI-funded research programmes and are intended to enable the Research Body to develop internationally competitive research infrastructure and support services. All awards are made directly to the applicant’s Research Body.
– Equipment, Material & Consumables
– Travel
– Subsistence
Selection Criteria: Proposals submitted in response to the Industry Fellowship Programme call will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
-Quality of the Prospective Fellow commensurate with career stage
-Quality of the proposed work programme
-Potential impact of the proposed Fellowship
-Potential for long term collaborative work between the partners, beyond the scope of this award -Relevance of the Fellowship to the strategic plans and goals of both partners
-Appropriateness of the proposed work environment
-Fit with National Research Prioritisation areas or areas of significant economic opportunity for Ireland
-Career development opportunities for the Prospective Fellow as appropriate to career stage
-Commitment to and level of support for the Fellowship from both partners.
How to Apply: As detailed in the SFI Industry Fellowship Call Document, all proposals are to be submitted via SESAME, SFI’s online grants and awards management system. If accessing SESAME for the first time, researchers should contact their local Research Office to be set up on this system.
Scholarship Application Deadline: Proposals can be submitted at any time. This Industry Fellowship Programme 2014 will operate as an open call with two assessment rounds per annum (September and March). Proposals can be submitted at any time. Proposals received prior to 13:00 on the 10th of June 2014 (Dublin, Ireland local time) will be evaluated during the September assessment round. Proposals received prior to 13:00 on the 10th of December 2014 (Dublin, Ireland local time) will be evaluated during the March assessment round.
Note: Applicants who require pre-approval (i.e. those qualifying under Category B) are required to submit pre-approval documentation at least one calendar month before submitting their proposals.
