Bourguignon stresses importance of basic research funding
Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon will outline the significance of EU funding in Ireland during a keynote address to the Irish research community at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin today.
The president of the European Research Council will discuss research funding in Ireland and also outline the importance of funding basic scientific research in order to unlock the full potential and attractiveness of the European Research Area.
The event, entitled ‘Excellent Research: Ireland and the European Research Council’, is being hosted by Professor Mary E Daly, president of the Royal Irish Academy, and Professor Nicholas Canny, member of the ERC Scientific Council. Speaking ahead of his address, Bourguignon said: “In the past few years, Ireland has made significant advances in its research investment and is catching up with other well-performing EU member states such as Denmark and Austria. The country is on the right track, in particular if it continues to also fund long term curiosity-driven research – a target to which the ERC is firmly committed.”
So far, 34 research projects have been funded by the ERC in Ireland, representing total funding worth €57m. A further 25 grant holders of Irish nationality based in institutions outside Ireland. Several ERC grantees will participate in the event and provide their thoughts on the Irish Research landscape.
Also attending the event is the Irish Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English. Commenting, English said: “This is a challenging but exciting time for us all with the start of Horizon 2020. The ERC is a key component of Horizon 2020’s Excellence Science pillar and has a budget of €13bn covering the years 2014 to 2020. We are beginning to see a significant growth in the number of applications for the various ERC award schemes from Ireland, and the 2014 results for ERC applications have been very positive so far. In Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC) work together closely to support ERC applications and provide National Contact Points for ERC schemes.”
The Royal Irish Academy is a publicly funded institution established for the promotion of Irish academic research and was founded by Royal Charter in 1785.
