Avolon is delighted that An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and Irish Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, TD, have today announced government support for Innovate for Ireland, a transformative, globally unique doctoral scholarship programme originally conceived by our CEO, Dómhnal Slattery.

Through a partnership between the Irish Government and the private sector, Innovate for Ireland will position Ireland as a global innovation leader by attracting, developing and retaining world-class doctoral students on the island of Ireland over the next decade. The Irish Government has agreed to match private-sector funding of up to €50m. This initial target fund of €100 million will fund 400 PhD students. It is intended that the programme will expand to provide 1,200 PhD scholarships over the coming decade. Avolon is supporting Innovate for Ireland alongside AIB Group.

Innovate for Ireland is a first of a kind, world-class doctoral training programme, which will establish Ireland as a globally-renowned hub of talent development and a destination of choice for students seeking to develop innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges of our time.

It will become Ireland’s innovation and talent development calling card globally and it will enhance the role of Higher Education Institutions as a catalyst for Ireland’s broader innovation ecosystem. It will take a progressive approach to PhD training by recruiting cohorts of students around prioritised themes of research carried out in clusters of Higher Education Institutions across the island of Ireland. These cohorts will form the ‘i-Scholar’ Community and will be welcomed from all academic disciplines.

The Innovate for Ireland programme will be managed through Science Foundation Ireland, in partnership with the Irish Research Council and the Health Research Board.

Speaking about his vision for the programme, Avolon CEO, Dómhnal Slattery, said: “I strongly believe this will be a transformative initiative for this island, one that will not only establish Ireland as the destination of choice for world-class research students, but will also deliver a strong pipeline of workplace-ready innovators to our shores over the next decade. Innovate for Ireland will hugely benefit both our economy and our society. This ambitious collaboration will place this island of scholars exactly where we need to be, and that is at the forefront of game-changing global innovation.”

Colin Hunt, Group Chief Executive of AIB, one of the initial enterprise partners supporting Innovate for Ireland, said: “Innovation is a critical driver of any progressive society and economy. It is through research that we learn about and improve life on our planet, not just for this generation, but for generations to come. AIB is delighted to commit as a founding cornerstone partner of Innovate for Ireland, empowering the talent of tomorrow to create a sustainable future for us all.”

Read the Irish Government announcement here.