SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Gender in Research
Science Foundation Ireland has programmes and
initiatives in place aimed at supporting excellent
female researchers at a variety of crucial steps along
the career pipeline.
In 2015, Science Foundation Ireland introduced an
initiative to increase the number of female applicants
to its flagship early career programme, the SFI Staring
Investigator Grant (SIRG). SIRG provides the best
and brightest early stage researchers with four years
funding for themselves and one PhD student under
the mentorship of a senior academic. Previously,
applications to the SIRG programme were capped at
five applications per research body, with no reference
to gender balance. In 2015, the cap was raised to
12, provided no more than six of the applications
made per research body were from male applicants.
The rationale behind this action was that female
applications to the programme have been steady at
around 25% for a number of years, and this is not
representative of the 50% of STEM PhD graduates
in Ireland who we know are female. In 2015, 44% of
applications to the programme were from women, a
significant improvement.
In order to ensure that awards made under Science
Foundation Ireland funding schemes do not preclude
or unintentionally discourage the hiring of female
researchers, Science Foundation Ireland offers a
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maternity allowance that provides award holders
with funding when they or a team member take a
period of maternity or adoptive leave.
As an additional support mechanism for researchers
further along the career pipeline, the Investigator
Career Advancement (ICA) category of the SFI
Investigators Programme stipulates that reviewers
consider career breaks and periods of part-time
work undertaken by the applicant when assessing
their productivity over a timeframe. Successful ICA
applicants are also eligible to request funding for
teaching buyout so as to further support them in their
return to research.
In 2015, Science Foundation Ireland committed to
have all its staff and Board undertake unconscious
bias training; an international provider has been
identified and this programme will commence in
2016.
Through our seats on the Science Europe Gender
and Diversity Working Group, and the Athena Swan
Ireland Committee, Science Foundation Ireland is
constantly benchmarking itself against international
best practice and searching for new and innovative
ways to further retain and support women in
research.
Setting the Standard for Medical Device Software Worldwide
Dr Fergal McCaffery’s work into medical device technology is enabling
manufacturers to meet international regulatory standards set by the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), establishing Ireland as a key location for
medical device software engineering research.
MDevSPICE, developed by Dr McCaffery’s and his team at Dundalk IT, is a
framework used by organisations to efficiently and economically comply with
regulatory standards. The toolkit also makes their products more attractive to
international markets as they can demonstrate to large medical device companies
that they are capable of providing them with safe software. In fact, the last two
years has seen the publication of four new international standards and technical
reports led by members of Dr McCaffery’s Team.
Additionally, research into medical device cybersecurity has assisted
organisations globally to create safer and more secure medical devices. One
specific aspect of this research focused on medical IT Risk Management, the
results of which have assisted hospitals around the world to create safer and
more secure medical IT networks.
Prof Fergal McCaffery
There are currently two spin-out companies in development to further establish
the commercial value of this research, all of which will help create high value jobs
in the area.
Dr McCaffery is a Principal Investigator with SFI Research Centre Lero.