Nine UCD projects funded under Research Ireland’s Enterprise Fellowship programme
31 March 2026
A total of nine UCD-led projects have been awarded funding under Research Ireland’s Enterprise Fellowship Programme.
The projects funded span a range of disciplines, and include an AI security framework, therapies for sight loss and a breakthrough cancer screening test.
This year, the Enterprise Fellowship Programme is awarding a total of €4.4 million to support 46 fellowships, designed to support different modes of research in collaboration with enterprise partners.
The programme enables researchers to gain experience beyond academic settings through defined research collaborations, while providing enterprise partners with access to academic knowledge and skills relevant to their interests.
The funded UCD projects are:
FORTRESS: A Framework for Evaluating Security Risks and Enhancing Resilience of Agentic AI Systems in Enterprise Applications
- Project lead: Faithful Chiagoziem Onwuegbuche, UCD School of Computer Science
- Enterprise partner: Workday
- Funding amount: €92,047.80
Digital Twin model for colorectal cancer diagnosis
- Project lead: Niraj Khemka, Systems Biology Ireland
- Enterprise partner: AstraZeneca
- Funding amount: €111,318.53
Fundamental Study of Nanobubble Mechanisms and Interfacial Properties for Wastewater-treatment Plants (WWTPs)
- Project lead: Saeid Sinehbaghizadeh, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering
- Enterprise partner: Waterschap De Dommel
- Funding amount: €94,084.57
Deep Learning based Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) for Industry 5.0
- Project lead: Xingyu Fu
- Enterprise partner: Salt Medical Limited
- Funding amount: €80,256.45
Integral: Irish Mathematical Philosophy at the NLI
- Project lead: Clare Moriarty
- Enterprise partner: National Library of Ireland
- Funding amount: €102,247.44
Tracing violence in early modern testimonies: analysis and digitisation of the Poitou (France) depositions of 1681
- Project lead: David Nicoll, UCD School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics
- Enterprise partner: Marsh’s Library+E6
- Funding amount: €44,663.22
Unpacking the Paul O'Neill Archive at IMMA: Nationhood, Counterpublics, and the Curating of Contemporary Art in Globalising Ireland Since 1991
- Project lead: Matisse Huiskens
- Enterprise partner: Irish Museum of Modern Art
- Funding amount: €97,357.72
Proteomic Profiling of Retinal Regeneration in Zebrafish to Uncover Therapeutic Targets for Vision Restoration
- Project lead: Tess McCann, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science
- Enterprise partner: Fighting Blindness
- Funding amount: €104,738.39
Low-Frequency Broadband Vibration Control Using Acoustic Metamaterial Panels Derived from End-of-Life Tyres
- Project lead: Tong Guo
- Enterprise partner: Circol ELT
- Funding amount: €89,890.56
“The high level of participation in the Research Ireland Enterprise Fellowship programme illustrates a strong appetite across disciplines and sectors for meaningful collaboration between academia and enterprise,” said Dr. Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland.
“This investment supports the mobility and development of research talent by giving researchers experience across both academic and enterprise settings, and enabling the flow of knowledge and skills in both directions.”
Forty distinct enterprise partners are supporting this year’s awardees, and span small, medium and large enterprises, both indigenous and international, as well as not-for-profit bodies and charities.
The 46 awardees stem from 13 institutions nationwide.
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
