2016 - IRC Interdisciplinary Research Workshop for Health

The aim of this focused workshop is to facilitate the creation of long-term interdisciplinary networks for health‐related research, with the target of securing European funding under the upcoming H2020 Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing Work Programme (2016/2017).

One of Ireland’s key industrial strengths is in the MedTech Sector. With 13 of the world’s top 15 medical device companies based in Ireland, employing over 25,000 people, the economic and societal value of this sector to Ireland Inc. cannot be overstated. Much of this success has been achieved through close collaboration with Irish academic research institutions, bridging the inter-sectoral gap between industry and academia. However, interdisciplinary gaps within health research in Ireland still exist. Irish universities have been successful in securing funding for health-related research in recent years but the funding landscape is changing, with a growing requirement for truly interdisciplinary research. To date, the majority of interdisciplinary research within Irish institutions has occurred on the basis of personal relationships between academics, often in a piecewise manner.

The workshop will:

• Highlight areas of strengths across the disciplinary divide
• Identify opportunities to enhance health-related research through interdisciplinary collaboration
• Facilitate network creation with the aim of developing detailed plans for collaborative submissions to the upcoming H2020 Health calls in the area of Personalised Medicine