Call for Applications: Join the Global Talent Ireland 2025 program for international researchers of various career stages

Ednah Carrick July 26, 2025

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Closing Date: 28 August 2025

Call for Applications: Join the Global Talent Ireland 2025 program for international researchers of various career stages

The Government of Ireland is inviting proposals to attract top-tier international researchers of various career stages (mid-career and established) through the Global Talent Ireland 2025 program.

This is part of a national effort to strengthen Ireland’s research ecosystem by welcoming world-class talent across disciplines. Researchers will be hosted by an Irish education institution and must relocate their research activities to Ireland.

Overview

Global Talent Ireland 2025 aims to attract exceptional mid-career and established researchers from across the globe to Ireland. Researchers funded through this programme are required to transfer their research activities from their current location to an Eligible Research Body in Ireland. Given its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, Research Ireland welcomes applications from women and those from historically underserved communities.

The programme budget includes the resources to build a research team (e.g., staff, consumables and travel) to carry out high-impact, world-class research, and additional start-up costs to support the researcher’s move to Ireland.

The objectives of the call are:

To attract excellent researchers to Eligible Research Bodies in Ireland
To reinforce the national Research and Innovation ecosystem
To support areas of strategic interest and help drive sustainable economic growth in
Ireland

This call will support the recruitment of exceptional researchers through two streams: “Rising
Stars” and “Research Leaders”:

Rising Stars are defined as mid-career researchers who have demonstrated research
excellence, independence and leadership, and have shown exceptional potential to
become a research leader of the future
Research Leaders are defined as world-leading researchers in their discipline with a
demonstrated capacity for strategic and dynamic leadership on the international stage.

The programme comprises two streams: Rising Stars and Research Leaders. High level details are outlined in the table below:

	Rising Star	Research leader
Career stage	5-15 years post-PhD	16+ years post-PhD
Award duration	6 years	6 years
Research funding	€1.5M	€2.5M
Startup funding	€0.75M	€0.75M
Maximum budget request	€2.25M	€3.25M

Applicant Eligibility

The programme is only open to Rising Stars and Research Leaders who are currently employed outside of Ireland. Joint Appointments whereby Applicants propose to hold a contract of employment in Ireland and another country concurrently will not be supported through this programme. Joint appointments in two Irish Eligible Research Bodies, or between an Eligible Research Body and the HSE may be supported if there is an appropriate management plan in place. This information must be provided at the EOI stage. EOIs that are associated with Applicants who are currently employed in an industrial setting outside of Ireland are eligible through this call.

Rising Stars

Applicants applying to the Global Talent Ireland call as Rising Stars are required to:

Have obtained a PhD qualification (or equivalent4) within 5-15 years of the current year (PhD certification must be dated between 2010 and 2020)
Have an outstanding track record commensurate with their career stage and their field(s) of research
Have secured independent research funding from competitive publicly funded sources as a Lead Investigator or Co-Investigator
Have experience of supervising MSc- and/or PhD-level students
Have demonstrated international standing (e.g., peer review, keynote talks, collaboration, conference and workshop organisation, etc.) as an indicator of research maturity

Research Leaders

Applicants applying to the Global Talent Ireland call as Research Leaders are required to:

Have obtained a PhD qualification (or equivalent4) at least 16 years prior to the current year (PhD certification must be dated no later than 2009)
Hold a full professorial position at a major international research institution or an equivalent senior research-active role in an industrial setting
Demonstrate influential research (achievements and excellent generation of knowledge)
Have a proven track record of strategic and dynamic leadership and development of talent
Senior authorship of literature with demonstrable impact in relevant field(s) of interest
Significant international awards and fellowships
Plenary/keynote contributions at top-tier international conferences, and organisation of such meetings of importance
Distinguished service record on national or international grant review boards
Successful track record in securing independent funding from competitive, publicly funded sources

How to Apply

Expressions of Interest for the Global Talent Ireland call are submitted by eligible Research Bodies in Ireland (see full list of eligible Research Bodies here: Eligible Research Bodies – Research Ireland)

Potential applicants to the Global Talent Ireland call should identify a Research Body that aligns with their research aims/objectives and contact the relevant Research Offices to start discussions on potential recruitment. Research Ireland is not involved in linking potential applicants with Research Bodies.

Each Applicant requires a separate EoI template to be completed. EoIs should be signed by a member of the relevant Research Office staff and submitted by email to [email protected]. All EoIs associated with a given Research Body must be submitted in a single email communication, with each EoI attached individually (i.e., not merged). Following eligibility checks and potential triage steps, Applicants proceeding to the Full Proposal stage will be invited to apply on SESAME.