Sustain-FIT

Call 2 is now open

Call 2 of the Sustain-FIT programme is now open and full applications must be submitted through the submit.com portal between 1st and 29th May 2026 (portal link at the bottom of the page)

This is an international fellowship programme supporting industry-focused sustainability research in Ireland (36 month duration). Through this programme, 50 experienced researchers will be awarded a three-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship, and benefit from a structured career development framework including a mandatory 6-12 month secondment to the partner enterprise. Twenty-five fellowships were granted under Call 1. If you require more information on the outcome of Call 1 please contact sustainfit@enterprise-ireland.com

Funded by Enterprise Ireland and the EU’s Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska‑Curie Actions, the programme strengthens Ireland’s research excellence and helps companies accelerate their sustainability ambitions.
Sustain FIT supports applied research that helps companies solve real world sustainability challenges aligned with the EU Green Deal (link to The Environment: Ireland’s Green Deal – European Commission).

Typical themes include:

Clean energy
Circular and sustainable industry
Buildings and renovation
Sustainable mobility
Sustainable food systems
Eliminating pollution
Biodiversity
Climate Action
Digitalisation for sustainability

Projects must deliver measurable sustainability impact while supporting career development for the researcher and cross sector collaboration between academia and industry.

Sustain-FIT links three partners:

an international postdoctoral researcher
an Irish host research organisation
a participating company that provides a 6–12 month industry secondment.

Benefits to the International Postdoctoral researcher

36 month fellowship hosted at an Irish Higher Education Institute / Research Performing Organisation
Salary, mobility allowance, and research/training budget
International mobility, interdisciplinary training and industry secondment experience

Benefits to Host Research Organisations

Funding to employ an international Fellow
Strengthened research capacity in EU Green Deal areas
Deeper industry partnerships and increased competitiveness for EU funding

Benefits to participating companies

A 6–12 month secondment of a highly skilled postdoctoral researcher
Applied research tailored to a defined sustainability challenge
No salary cost (companies contribute in-kind only)

Call 2 is now open

The project formation phase is open until 30^th April 2026. Use this time to identify suitable projects and partners.

Full applications must be submitted by the international applicant through the Enterprise Ireland Submit.com portal between 1^st and 29^th May 2026.

Full details for each partner are in the relevant Guides;

Apply here

Call 2 is now Open

Universities
	Contact	Email
University College Dublin UCD	Meadhbh O’Halloran	proposalsupport@ucd.ie
Trinity College Dublin TCD		research.office@tcd.ie
Dublin City University DCU	Christina Rush	christina.rushe@dcu.ie
Maynooth University NUIM		research@mu.ie
University Galway NUIG	Caoibhe Duignan	caoibhe.duignan@universityofgalway.ie
University College Cork UCC	Raghuram Badmi	RBadmi@ucc.ie
University Limerick UL	Sharone O’Loughlin	MarieCurie@ul.ie

Technological Universities
	Contact	Email
Technological University Dublin (TUD)	Guldan Kalem	Guldan.Kalem@tudublin.ie
Munster Technological University (MTU)	Hillary Cronin	hillary.croninllary.cronin@mtu.ie
Atlantic Technological University ATU Sligo	John Bartlett	john.bartlett@atu.ie
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT)
Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT)	Darota Zurek	dorota.zurek@iadt.ie
Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS)	Lorna Walsh	lorna.walsh@tus.ie
South East Technological University (SETU)	Dr. Abhishek Babu	abhishekbabu@setu.ie

Research Performing Organisations
	Contact	Email
Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc)	Ridhdhi Rathore	ridhdhi.rathore@teagasc.ie
Irish Manufacturing Research Centre (IMR)	Kevin Fraser	kevin.fraser@imr.ie
Tyndall National Institute (Tyndall)	Louise Burgoyne	louise.burgoyne@tyndall.ie
The Marine Institute (TMI)	Ankit Verma	ankit.verma@marine.ie