Almost €5 million in funding for third-level research on global development issues has been announced today.
This is the second round of funding announced under Irish Aid's Programme of Strategic Cooperation with Higher Education and Research Institutes which was launched in 2006.
Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power, said the €4.7 million in funds, is designed to support collaborative partnerships between Irish universities and their counterparts in developing countries.
"Together they will work to develop solutions to some of the underlying causes of global poverty ", he said.
Mr Power said the Irish Aid programme will benefit from these partnerships "which will also build on Ireland's academic and professional expertise in respect of development policy and practice."
Dublin Institute of Technology and Trinity College were awarded funding in this round. Smaller networking grants were also awarded to the University of Limerick, Kimmage Development Studies Centre, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and the National College of Art and Design.
The successful proposals were recommended for funding by an International Appraisal Panel comprising experts in the field of development research.
The thematic areas that activities funded will focus on include water and sustainable development, human rights, education, health, HIV and AIDS, urbanism and food and livelihood security.