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Ministers Harris and Fleming announce €2.1m funding for six research teams to tackle UN Sustainable Development Goals

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora Sean Fleming TD today announced funding of €2.1 million for six new research teams developing innovative solutions to climate action challenges. 

Run in partnership between SFI and Irish Aid, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Challenge will see teams competing for an overall prize of €1 million as they tackle climate action issues on life below water and life on land. 

The ideas being developed include: 

  • Mapping mangroves in Vietnam and restoring them; 
  • Evaluating solar disinfection technology in Malawi for water use in clinical settings; 
  • Recycling heat from meat production in Zambia; 
  • Investigating green infrastructure in urban environments in Tanzania 
  • Exploring relationships between water and the ecosystem to improve management of drought and floods in sub-Saharan cities; 
  • Working with farmers to use data to co-design solutions to climate change in Uganda. 

 

The ultimate winner will use their prize money to further advance their solution towards implementation. 

Speaking today, Minister Harris said: “I am pleased to share the selection of these six teams for this SDG Challenge. The climate crisis and its consequences for life demand solutions that we can deploy as soon as possible.  

“SFI’s Challenge Funding Programmes seek to support Ireland’s research community to accelerate the pace of innovation, developing novel, potentially disruptive, technologies to address significant societal challenges.  

“These teams will work with researchers in Irish Aid’s partner countries to devise, refine and implement solutions to problems that threaten everyday life.  

“This real-world impact is at the heart of the challenge-based funding supported by SFI and my department, which will utilise the best of research to make many lives better.”  

The focus of the SDG Challenge is for the development of innovative solutions relating to challenges associated with climate, biodiversity and the environment, with a specific objective of addressing challenges in countries where Irish Aid works.   

These projects represent international collaborations between research institutes in Ireland and groups in Irish Aid partner countries, in this case Tanzania, Zambia, Vietnam, Malawi and Uganda.   

Minister Fleming said: “This year’s SDG Challenge funding focuses on climate action and the environment.  

“We have already seen how developing nations can be disproportionately affected by the climate crisis.  

“By supporting researchers both in Ireland and in the countries where Irish Aid works, we will use innovative ideas and cutting-edge scientific research to help mitigate some of those effects.”  

Prof Philip Nolan, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland said: “The award of this funding is an exciting moment for these teams, and we are looking forward very much to seeing how they use this opportunity to advance their research. 

“These six teams are working on specific problems that are central to our response to the climate crisis and using their creativity and research skills to develop immediate solutions.  

“Not only do they represent some of the best of Irish research, they are also driven by the hope that their solutions can change the world – a sentiment at the heart of challenge-based funding.”  

The SDG Challenge calls on research teams to develop innovative solutions that contribute to SDG 13: Climate Action, and related goals and targets.  

Recognising the interconnectedness between climate, biodiversity and the environment, the challenge theme also encompasses SDG 14: Life below water and SDG 15: Life on land.  

The projects submitted include concepts to conserve energy, protect water supplies, and work on local environmental problems affecting people and crop production.  

ENDS 

Note for the Editor  

The funded teams are (listed alphabetically by lead researcher): 

Dr Quan Le, University College Dublin, and Dr Anh Vu Vo, University College Dublin – mapping the mangroves of Vietnam to high resolution to track changes and implement restoration. Dr Tuan-Quoc Vo, Can Tho University, Partner Country Team Lead; Dr Thuy Nguyen-Thi-Bich, The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development, SNV, Societal Impact Champion. Partner country: Vietnam  

Prof. Kevin McGuigan, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Dr Jakub Gajewski, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences – evaluating solar disinfection technology for water use in clinical settings. Prof. Christabel Yollandah Kamballa, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Partner Country Team Lead; Dr Martin Wesian, Societal Impact Champion.  Partner country: Malawi  

Prof. Aonghus McNabola, Trinity College Dublin and Prof. Pádraig Carmody, Trinity College Dublin – recycling heat from meat production to reduce costs and carbon footprint of food products. Dr Godfrey Hampwaye, Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (Zambia), Partner Country Team Lead; Ms Mangiza Chirwa Chongo, Hivos Zambia, Societal Impact Champion. Partner country: Zambia  

Dr Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo, University College Dublin and Prof. Francesco Pilla, University College Dublin – investigating green infrastructure in urban environments to reduce the impact of heat stress on human health. Dr Elinorata Mbuya, Ardhi University Partner Country Team Lead; Mr Msololo Onditi, Forum on Climate Change (FORUMCC), Societal Impact Champion. Partner country: Tanzania  

Dr Liana Ricci, University College Dublin, and Dr Fiachra O’Loughlin, University College Dublin – exploring relationships between water and the ecosystem to improve management of drought and floods in sub-Saharan cities. Gabriel Kassenga, ARDHI University, Partner Country Team Lead; Timothy Ndezi, Centre for Community Initiatives, Tanzania, Societal Impact Champion. Partner country: Tanzania  

Dr Annmarie Ryan, University of Limerick and Dr Eoin O’Connell, University of Limerick – working with farmers to use data to co-design solutions to climate change specific to their locations. Dr Anthony Gidudu, Dean, the School of the Built Environment and an associate professor at the Department of Geomatics and Land Management at Makerere University, Partner Country Team Lead. Partner country: Uganda.