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UMass Amherst, University College of Dublin Launch 2024 Seed Funding for Strategic Research Initiatives

UMass Amherst and University College of Dublin (UCD) are launching a new 2024 Seed Funding for Strategic Research Initiatives call for academics and researchers tackling the broad strategic themes of sustainability, empowering societies and communities and advanced materials and manufacturing. 

Pictured (l-r) are Eric Wirth, UMass manager of global partnerships; Aifric O’Sullivan, assistant professor at UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science; Kalpen Trivedi, UMass vice provost for global affairs and director of International Programs; Dolores O’Riordan, vice president for global engagement and director of the UCD Institute of Food & Health; Shauna Hughes, UCD director of global relations, partnerships and mobility; and Shannon Farrelly, regional lead for North America at the UCD Global Center.
Pictured (l-r) are Eric Wirth, UMass manager of global partnerships; Aifric O’Sullivan, assistant professor at UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science; Kalpen Trivedi, UMass vice provost for global affairs and director of International Programs; Dolores O’Riordan, vice president for global engagement and director of the UCD Institute of Food & Health; Shauna Hughes, UCD director of global relations, partnerships and mobility; and Shannon Farrelly, regional lead for North America at the UCD Global Center.

The call was announced by Dolores O’Riordan, professor and vice president for global engagement at UCD, UMass Amherst Acting Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement Laura Vandenberg and UMass Amherst Vice Provost for Global Affairs Kalpen Trivedi. In conjunction with the Office of Research and Engagement and the International Programs Office at UMass Amherst, UCD Global and UMass are providing grants for researchers to visit one another’s faculty, establish new collaborations and strengthen existing partnerships.

The 2024 Seed Funding aims to foster novel, multidisciplinary approaches to the three broad strategic theme areas. The Joint Seed Fund welcomes applications from all disciplines, including STEM, agriculture, animal sciences, health, social sciences, business and arts and humanities. The call for applications is open to staff with existing partnerships who wish to strengthen future collaborations, as well as to staff with existing or potential partnerships between the two institutions who want to use the fund to strengthen future collaborations.

UMass Amherst and UCD, a leading research-intensive university in Europe, have a strong and long-standing partnership in student mobility for over 10 years. With over 38,000 students from 152 countries, UCD is Ireland's most globally engaged university. The university’s main Dublin campus offers world-leading facilities and a diverse range of disciplines. UCD researchers have secured €156 million in research grants and authored over 36,000 papers, with 58% co-authored with institutions in other countries. UCD is Ireland’s leader in innovation, technology transfer, and commercialization, providing support to over 500 companies and early-stage ventures.

O’Riordan said that she is “pleased to announce this call, which will further develop and strengthen the partnership between UCD and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The seed funding is designed to scope future research collaborations in areas of strength for both universities. This funding builds on the already significant partnership between the two institutions and will facilitate researchers to engage an internationalized environment and provide them with global dimensions to key research topics.”

“Faculty and researchers from both UMass and UCD have already been working together across a range of disciplines and issues,” said Vandenberg. “Through this new program we hope to deepen these collaborations with a view to seed high-impact research.”

“I am delighted that we are able to build on our existing connections with UCD to begin a strategic partnership between our institutions which will leverage complementary research strengths and a strong interest in mobility,” added Trivedi.

The application form can be found here. UCD will be mirroring this funding call for its researchers.