Ulysses programme - launch of the 2020 call [fr]

Launch of the 2020 Ulysses call for projects

The 2020 Ulysses call for projects is now open! You have until 25th September 2019 to apply with a French-Irish research project.

Ulysses is the scheme designed to support new research collaborations between Irish and French researchers. In Ireland, Ulysses is funded by the Irish Research Council and the Teagasc, and administered by the Irish Research Council. On the French side, it is funded by the Departments for Foreign Affairs (Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et du Développement International) and Research (Ministère de l’Education Nationale, de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche) and administered by the Embassy of France in Ireland and Campus France, the leading French agency for international mobility.

Since 2018, Ulysses also includes five strategic partners: EIRGRID (Ireland) and RTE (France), the Health Research Board (Ireland), SEAI (Ireland) and Ademe (France).

Dr Eavan O’Brien, Assistant-Director of the Irish Research Council and H.E. Mr Stéphane Crouzat, Ambassador of France to Ireland in the Boardroom of the National Library of Ireland with the first copy of the Ulysses novel, published in 1922.
Copyright Fennell Photography

Ulysses 2020

All research areas, including social sciences and humanities, are covered by this programme.
In addition, each partner may provide funding to projects that tackle its own strategic concerns, regarding the following distribution:
• Applications following up the fight against climate change will be processed by the Irish Research Council and funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Ademe in France;
• Projects targeting renewable energies and smart grids will be funded by Eirgrid and RTE;
• Health-related research plans will be funded by HRB.
Projects aiming at an application within the Horizon 2020 scheme shall be given special attention and proper support.

Aim of the programme

This scheme is named Ulysses after James Joyce’s famous novel to celebrate the Joycean links between Ireland and France. Its aim is to foster new collaborations between researchers in Ireland and France by funding reciprocal travel visits between two research groups over the course of one year.
The longer-term goal is to establish lasting professional networks of researchers and institutes. The programme provides ‘seed-funding’ to begin such collaborations. Successful applicants are encouraged to develop their post-Ulysses collaboration by seeking larger-scale funding from other sources.
Applications involving researchers at an early stage of their academic career will be favorably received. The programme offers grants of up to 2 x €2,500 to Irish and French researchers to support visits linked to mutual research projects.

James Joyce and the National Library of Ireland

This year, we had the privilege to launch the 2020 call for proposals at the National Library of Ireland, which happens to be the setting of the novel’s central chapter and the place where James Joyce himself used to spend much of his time as a student.
For the occasion, the National Library displayed the first printed copy of the novel Ulysses, published in 1922, in the presence of Dr Eavan O’Brien, Assistant-Director of the Irish Research Council and H.E. Mr Stéphane Crouzat, Ambassador of France to Ireland.
This N°1 copy was given to the National Library in 1952 by Harriet Weaver, patron and friend of the author, 30 years after she received it from the author as a token of gratitude, as Joyce inscribed himself on the first page.

Many thanks to the National Library of Ireland for their precious contribution to the launch!

More info

For Irish applicants, more information can be found on the Irish Research Council website
For French applicants, more information can be found on the Campus France website
Deadline for applications is set on the 25th September 2019 at 5pm.