2015 Enterprise Partnership Scheme:
Postgraduate & Postdoctoral
Conditional awardees & Reserve Candidates
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs)
Transcripts & Award Acceptance Form
Q: Who should sign on behalf the Research Body?
A: We recommend that you contact the Research Office of the Irish Research Body
(i.e. the Higher Education Institution or Research Performing Organisation) where
you will be based for your Scholarship/Fellowship as a matter of urgency in order to
identify the appropriate representative and to determine any internal deadlines
relating to the signing process.
Q: Do I have to provide certified copies and transcripts for all my
qualifications, or is the certified copy and the transcript of my last
qualification enough to fulfil the requirements?
A: Certified copies and transcripts must be provided for all academic qualifications
stated in your application.
Q: I am an Italian citizen and am currently in another country. I do not expect
to come back to my home country very soon. Are the certified copies by an
Italian Embassy valid?
A: Where Conditional Awardees’ awarding institutions are outside Ireland and/or it
is difficult to have the transcripts certified by these institutions, they may have copies
of their transcripts certified by a suitable independent third party: e.g. by a notary,
solicitor, Garda/member of the police force, Commissioner for Oaths, etc.
Certification by an Embassy will suffice.
Q: My transcript is in Chinese. Do I need to get an English translation?
A: Yes. For Higher Education Institutions outside of Ireland, please provide a
translation where necessary and sign the translated copy with your own signature
(in addition to supplying the certified transcript in its original language). Upon
submission, your signature will be duly held as verification of the accuracy of this
document.
Q: Could you please clarify ''these transcripts must be appropriately stamped
or endorsed''? Could they be stamped by a university research office?
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A: As stated above, copies of transcripts may be certified by a suitable independent
third party: e.g. by a notary, solicitor, Garda/member of the police force,
Commissioner for Oaths, etc. The process that you outline whereby an institution’s
Research Office would stamp/certify a photocopy of these documents is satisfactory.
Q: I have been told by my former institution that they issue transcripts through
a secure electronic document system which would allow third-parties to view
student documents online via a link. This would be a much easier and quicker
option, if you were willing for me to provide you with this link rather than paper
copies of my documents.
A: In this case, please send us a hard copy of the relevant transcript (which, in this
instance, may be uncertified) together with clear instructions regarding the electronic
means by which their authenticity may be verified by the Council.
Q: My transcripts are in my maiden name. When I am sending the transcripts
should I send a copy of my marriage certificate also?
A: Yes, we will require a copy of your marriage certificate in order to verify that the
transcripts provided are actually yours.
Q: Where should the certified copies of transcripts and signed acceptance
form be sent?
A: Please post these documents to: Enterprise Partnership Scheme, Irish Research
Council, Brooklawn House, Crampton Avenue, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4, Ireland.
Q: In relation to the IP agreements, we are currently drafting these and getting
them out to companies for review/signature however it is unlikely that we will
meet the deadline of 13th November for those. Is it ok if we have these to you
by first week of December?
A: The Council expects Conditional Awardees to make every effort to ensure that
they meet the stipulated deadline. Should insurmountable delays arise in relation to
the IP agreement, we request that Conditional Awardees (a) proceed to send us all
other documentation (signed Award Acceptance Form, transcripts) by the stipulated
deadline and (b) advise us of the situation regarding the IP agreement close to the
deadline and propose a realistic revised timeframe. It may then be possible to
negotiate a short extension to the deadline for transcripts in exceptional
circumstances.
Q: I am having difficulty sourcing certified hard copies of my transcripts. Can
I submit soft copies?
A soft copy (PDF) is allowable initially. However, the Council requires a certified hard
copy of transcripts before any award start date.
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Q: I am in the process of gathering my academic transcripts; however, in the
relevant institutions there is a waiting list, which might mean missing the
relevant deadline. Is it possible to submit the academic transcripts after the
deadline?
A: The Council expects Conditional Awardees to make every effort to ensure that
they meet the stipulated deadline. Should insurmountable delays arise in relation to
transcripts, we request that Conditional Awardees (a) proceed to send us the signed
Award Acceptance Form by the stipulated deadline and (b) advise us of the situation
regarding transcripts close to the deadline and propose a realistic revised timeframe.
It may then be possible to negotiate a short extension to the deadline for transcripts
in exceptional circumstances.
Ethical approval
Q: How do I know if I need a statement from an ethics committee?
A: In your original application, you were asked if your proposal required ethical
approval. If you answered ‘yes’ to this question, you will be required to submit
confirmation of approval from the Ethics Committee in your institution. Upon receipt
of this, please post a hard copy to the above-mentioned address.
Q: How do I go about obtaining ethical approval for my project?
We require that awardees send us evidence of approval by the University Ethics
Committee, or the equivalent body in your institution or Enterprise Partner. Written
evidence of such ethical approval is required prior to commencement or, with written
consent of the Council, within three months of the project start date.
Q: It is not possible for me to get ethical approval from the University Ethics
Committee by the award start date. What should I do?
A: If you require ethical approval, this must be provided by 4th January 2016, or, with
written approval from the Irish Research Council, within 3 months of this date.
Requests to provide ethical approval within 3 months should be sent to
[email protected] and should provide the rationale for the request.
Start Date & Other Questions
Q: I am experiencing some difficulties with my email address, which I provided
in my application. Could I use a different email address temporarily, please?
A: Please log in to SmartSimple in order to update your contact information. To
ensure receipt of notifications of important information and opportunities, awardees
are obliged to keep contact their information up-to-date in the online system.
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Q: Why are my Total Direct Research Costs over the period of funded research
slightly lower than those requested in my application?
A: Please see the list of notes regarding ineligible costs in your Award Budget and
compare these with the requested Direct Research Costs in your application. A
deduction will have been made due to the inclusion of an ineligible cost.
Q: I cannot start my award on 4th January 2016 (contract date) but can start on
1st February 2016 (date on the Terms and Conditions). How can I go about
this?
A: Please note that this change was in response to a representative from a working
group involving the Deans of Graduate Studies contacting us; hence, we sought to
offer flexibility on this. It is preferable that Scholars and Fellows all begin on the
same date, but we appreciate that the original date indicated was 1st February 2016,
and that Scholars/Fellows may have cemented plans in the interim with a view to
starting on this date. Should you wish to avail of the 1st February 2016 start date,
please email [email protected]. It will be sufficient to amend and signature the
date on your Award Acceptance Form.
Otherwise, please note that Scholarships/Fellowships may not be deferred, other
than for eligible career breaks (e.g. maternity or parental leave) or in exceptional
circumstances (e.g. illness). The decision is at the discretion of the Council. The
Council’s decision on the matter will be final.
Q: How does the scheme treat the Non-EU fee rate? How much can a higher
education institution claim?
A: The fee rate for researchers is just the EU rate; so, if a Non-EU qualifies for the
scheme, the additional fees costs would be a matter for either the researcher or the
HEI. The scheme only pays for the EU fee amount.
Q: After receiving the supporting materials and documentation from me, how
long will take you to issue the final award confirmation?
This in order to manage an advance notice that I am resigning to the company
where I am currently working.
A: This will depend entirely upon the promptness with which Conditional Awardees
submit signed forms, certified transcripts, etc. to the Council. If these documents are
received before the deadline, it may then be possible to confer ‘Award Holder’ status
very quickly.
Q: I am currently on the reserve list for 2016 when will the final list be
available?
A: Applicants who were offered an Enterprise Partnership Scheme award were
advised that the deadline(s) for award acceptance are mid-to-late November 2015.
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As soon as an offer is declined, we will immediately offer the award to candidates
placed on the reserve list in ranked order. Thus, while we encourage Conditional
Awardees to notify us of their intention to decline at the earliest opportunity, the
Council will only be in a position to confirm the final number of declined awards after
the November deadline.
Q: How do I go about declining the offer?
A: You can decline an offer by emailing [email protected]. Please note that the
Council operates a reserve list for this scheme. As soon as an offer is declined, we
will immediately offer the award to candidates placed on the reserve list in ranked
order. As you will appreciate, reserve candidates are eager to learn whether or not
they will be offered a Scholarship/Fellowship under this scheme.
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