A new cohort of early stage research fellows has joined Queen’s University Belfast thanks to the Spark programme and they were officially welcomed at an event hosted in the Graduate School on the 9^th of October.

Spark is a European Union Horizon 2020 funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral training programme worth approximately €3.2 million that supports interdisciplinary PhD students at Queen’s University Belfast. PhD students funded within Marie Skłodowska-Curie programmes have the title of Early Stage Researcher (ESR). 

Twenty students from a total of 14 countries have been appointed, with details of their projects below. The first cohort of ten took up their posts at the University in January 2018 with the second cohort commencing in the first week of October. Their work will vary from the development of a nano medicine in a patch for wound healing through to access for all at museums; and from creative media as a vehicle for reduction of suicide risk in men through to the biological effects of laser-accelerated ion bursts.

Professor Margaret Topping, Dean at Queen’s University Belfast’s Graduate School and Director of the Spark programme, said: “The research topics of the new wave of Spark fellows span the University’s three Faculties and 12 of our Schools and their work will cover a very diverse range of subject areas. It is exciting that we can attract these excellent early-career researchers, who will gain a unique interdisciplinary, intersectoral and international training experience through Spark whilst contributing to the University’s research.”

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 754507 awarded to Queen’s University Belfast

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For more information on the Spark Programme please contact Adele Ward, Project Administrator on sparkproject@qub.ac.uk