Early Career Researcher

This award celebrates individuals in the early stages of their research career, defined as those who have held a post that includes responsibility for developing their own research agenda. There will be two categories for this award:

Starting: applicants have between 2-7 years experience since completion of their PhD as of the closing date for applications.

Prize: President’s Research Excellence and Impact medal.

Application form: Early Career Researcher

Consolidator: applicants have between 7-12 years experience since completion of their PhD as of the closing date for applications.

Prize: President’s Research Excellence and Impact medal and €5,000 research funding

Deadline: Call open 27 May 2024, deadline for applications for all categories: 5pm, Friday, 30 August 2024

For further information please contact the Research Impact Officer, Yvonne.Kiely@ul.ie

Additional application details below

Early Career Researcher Past Winners

Woman and man being presented by awards by another woman

Early Career Winners for 2024 - Professor Hilary Moss (Consolidator Award) and Associate Professor Daragh Bradshaw (Starting Award) being presented their medals by Professor Ann Ledwith, UL Interim Provost and Deputy President

Picture shows two award winners receiving their prizes

Early Career Researcher award winners 2023, Dr Tadhg Kearney and Dr Clodagh Twomey, both being presented their awards by Professor Kerstin Mey, UL President

2022: Dr Hugh Geaney, Department of Chemical Sciences; Dr Elaine Kinsella, Department of Psychology; Dr Soumya Mukherjee, Department of Chemical Sciences

The group of early career researchers pictured with Prof Mey and Prof Kennedy

2022 Early Career Researcher Award Winners

2021: Dr Kieran O’Sullivan, Senior Lecturer, School of Allied Health

2021: Dr Kieran O’Sullivan, Senior Lecturer, School of Allied Health

Application and award process

1. Applications are made by email to researchimpact@ul.ie using the appropriate form.

2. The applicant for the Early Career Researcher Awards must be a current 51��ɫ employee at the time of the award.

3. In the case of Early Career Researcher Awards, previous applications (excluding winners of that category) may be re-submitted for the awards in subsequent years, subject to their meeting the relevant eligibility criteria.

4. Applications for Early Career Researchers Award must be accompanied by a letter of support (a minimum of 1 letter and a maximum of 2) from users of research beyond academia.

5. Applications for Early Career Researchers Award must be accompanied by a 1 Page CV

6. Applicants are advised to stay within the word-count limit set on the forms. Submitted forms which exceed word-count limits will be disregarded.

Evaluation

The President’s Research Excellence and Impact awards will be judged by the Academic members of the Research Impact Committee and will make recommendations to the President and Vice President Research for ratification. The panel will evaluate the eligible applications based on their demonstration of excellent research and articulated impact (beyond academia).

Excellence

Evidence of a sustained body of excellent research outputs within a discipline or beyond.

Impact

Clearly articulated and evidence-based impact(s) of the research outputs. The reach and significance of the impact should be well articulated and evidenced. Research impact can be defined as “the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy”.1 This definition refers to ‘excellent research’; in other words, research that is recognised internationally for its originality, significance and/or rigour. For early career researchers the focus can also be on ‘potential impact’ and ‘pathways to impact’ as appropriate.

1 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), website