Call open for €2.9m privacy, trust, inclusion and fairness fellowship program

Ireland's Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Niall Collins TD formally launched the search for 16 world-class researchers to take up postdoctoral fellowships at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software. Funding for the programme was secured earlier this year and applications will be accepted from now until October 3, 2023.

Minister Collins said the €2.9 million investment in the SyMeCo (Systems, Methods, Context) research training programme, funded by Science Foundation Ireland and the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND programme, shows Ireland is playing a leading role in the development of best-in-class software expertise, facilitating responsible innovation focusing on privacy, trust, inclusion and fairness.
“Lero’s fellowship programmes attract the best and brightest, serving as a magnet attracting top researchers to Limerick and Ireland. The fact that Lero, with its exceptional research reputation, has been granted this funding is a testament to its remarkable track record in cultivating and executing fellowship programmes,” he added.
Lero director Professor Brian Fitzgerald of University of Limerick (UL) said Lero and its partner universities and institutes of technology consistently demonstrate they have the ability and expertise to nurture and develop trailblazing software researchers as they now seek to recruit a fresh cohort of 16 postdoctoral fellowship researchers for the SyMeCo programme.
“While SyMeCo will be coordinated here at Lero on the UL campus, fellowships will be available at Lero’s partner universities and institutes of technology. The programme will attract outstanding international researchers from the fields of computer science, software engineering, information systems and human-computer interaction from around the globe and we look forward to welcoming them to Ireland and the Lero community,” Professor Fitzgerald continued.
Professor Norelee Kennedy, Vice President Research, UL, said it is heartening that conversations are already underway with high-calibre candidates looking forward to coming to Limerick and Ireland.
“Since its foundation, Lero has expanded and enriched Ireland’s software research reputation. The SyMeCo fellowship programme further enhances this. During their two-year fellowship, participants will work closely with some of Ireland’s top software researchers and engage in discipline-specific skills training to enhance their career development. Additionally, they will have access to a comprehensive array of courses meticulously designed to refine their transferable skills and broaden their employment prospects. We very much look forward to welcoming SyMeCo fellows here to University of Limerick,” Professor Kennedy added.
Dr Kevin Walsh, Head of the SFI Research Centres Programme welcomed the announcement, saying: “Ireland’s reputation for excellent research and innovation helps the country compete for the best global talent, international funding and foreign direct investment. Programmes such as SyMeCo which will attract high calibre researchers from around the globe, align perfectly with Ireland's research agenda. By collaborating with experienced researchers and industry partners nationwide, the 16 highly-skilled fellows will be sought out by industry, the public sector, and academia, highlighting the strategic importance of SFI Research Centres such as Lero.”
More information on the fellowships is available on https://symeco.lero.ie/.

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