Working with academic researchers

SFI specialises in addressing companies’ needs through our support of researchers in Ireland’s higher education institutions.  We play a complementary role to that of our sister agencies IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in assisting foreign and indigenous industry. SFI supports industry collaborations by providing researchers with funding, linking researchers and companies that are working on relevant projects and providing the supportive environment that’s so essential for collaborative work.

IP should be managed according to the policies set out in the National IP Protocol.

The first step to forming fruitful partnerships for your business is finding the right researcher.

SFI Services/Resources:

The Enterprise Partnerships team is happy to provide details on researchers with the relevant expertise for your needs. Please provide us with a list of keywords or phrases that describe the expertise you are interested in to help with the search.

Please contact Aisling McEvoy, Head of Enterprise Partnerships, for further information (aisling.mcevoy@sfi.ie)

SFI Research Centres:

The world-leading SFI Research Centres create links across academia and industry. These partnerships address crucial research questions, foster the development of new and existing companies to create innovative products leading to job creation, and expand educational and career opportunities in Ireland in science and engineering. Projects can be formed with a single research centre or across a number of relevant centres. Further information on the SFI Research Centres can be found here.

Knowledge Transfer Ireland Database:

Knowledge Transfer Ireland's 'Find A Research Partner' database can assist you in locating researchers with specific expertise in Irish Higher Educations Institutes (Universities and Institutes of Technology).

Science Foundation Ireland has a range of funding programmes that suit industry-informed research and industry-academic interactions at a number of levels, ranging from seeding an initial engagement with an academic group to large scale collaborative research endeavours.

  • The SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship programme supports academia-industry interactions by placing academic researchers (at faculty and postdoctoral level) in industry worldwide. Fellowships can be between 1 and 12 months and can be taken on a full or part-time basis. 
  • The SFI Spokes Programme enables the addition of new industrial and academic partners and projects to a SFI Research Centre, allowing the Centre to expand and develop in line with new priorities and opportunities.
  • The SFI Strategic Partnerships Programme funds strategic opportunities within all areas covered by SFI’s legal remit where significant co-funding from a company, collection of companies, funding agency, charity, philanthropic organization or Higher Education Institute is available.

KTI’s mission is to support business and the research base to maximise innovation from State funded research by getting technology, ideas and expertise into the hands of business, swiftly and easily for the benefit of the public and the economy.  

Useful KTI Resources include:

 

The main objective of the Industrial Development Agency is to encourage investment into Ireland by foreign-owned companies.  

Enterprise Ireland’s mission is to accelerate the development of world-class Irish companies to achieve strong positions in global markets resulting in increased national and regional prosperity.