Trinity excelling in competition for prestigious H2020 funds
Posted on: 01 December 2016
Trinity College Dublin’s researchers have secured well over €50 million in prestigious Horizon 2020 funding since the programme began in 2014. This extremely strong performance means Trinity sits in 19th place in the list of 1,337 secondary and higher education establishments to have won Horizon 2020 funds.
The University of Cambridge sits top of the pile, ahead of University College London in second and the University of Oxford in third. Trinity is the leading performer in Ireland in terms of funding secured, ahead of NUI Galway (48th), UCD (49th) and UCC (63rd).
Since Horizon 2020 funds were first available in 2014, Trinity’s world-leading researchers have brought in approximately €53.5 million, which has been allocated to support 70 individual projects that span a wide range of disciplines.
Research Development Manager at Trinity, Doris Alexander, said: “Success rates in H2020 average at about 10.5% across Europe, which is down from the 19-21% in the previous framework programme, so Trinity’s excellent performance stands as a strong testament to both the quality of the research base in the University, and to the professional supports offered by the research administration.”
“This success has of course been enabled through College investment in a research diversification plan, of which H2020 is the driving force. Trinity’s membership of LERU — together with EARMA and COIMBRA — will help us continue to strengthen our already excellent position in Europe."
When the Horizon 2020 funding analyses are expanded from secondary and higher education establishments, so as to also include other research and industry institutions and organisations, Trinity is 29th in the list. The Max-Planck Institute (Germany) sits in first place, and the University of Cambridge drops to fifth.
Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme in history, with nearly €80 billion in funding having been made available between 2014 and 2020. It is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union — a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness.
Horizon 2020 is backed by Europe’s leaders and by the Members of the European Parliament. Their backing acknowledges that research is an investment in our future, and Horizon 2020 puts it at the heart of the EU’s blueprint for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs.