Competition format & key facts
Organized detailsOverview
Research Ireland's 2026 Defence Innovation Challenge funds interdisciplinary teams at eligible Irish research bodies to develop solutions for defence, emergency-response and national-resilience challenges.
Complete competition details
Ten teams are expected to progress through Concept and Seed phases. Applications can request up to €220,000 in direct costs across the first 13 months; the Concept phase supports up to €20,000 and Seed up to €200,000. One later Prize phase award of up to €1 million supports further prototyping, deployment planning and impact assessment.
Eligibility requirements
The core applicant team must consist of a Team Lead and Team Co-Lead who are academic staff or contract researchers at an eligible Research Body in Ireland and each hold a PhD. Applicants must meet all requirements in the official call document. Disruptive Ideas applicants must also notify Research Ireland of intent by 15 September 2026 at 17:00.
Tips for this competition
Practical Job and Scholarship guidance. These tips do not replace official rules or create new eligibility requirements.
- Study the scoring criteria and previous winners before deciding what evidence, prototype, essay, research or portfolio will best support the entry.
- Confirm country, age, team, education and organization restrictions and whether one person may enter multiple submissions.
- Follow the required file format, word/time limits and naming rules exactly; technical non-compliance can disqualify a strong entry.
- Keep proof of submission and submit before the deadline rather than relying on the final hour.
Verification notes
Verified from the current Research Ireland Defence Innovation Challenge call page on 8 September 2026. The full-proposal deadline is 29 October 2026 at 13:00 Irish local time; Ireland is on UTC+00:00 on that date. A separate 15 September 2026 at 17:00 notification-of-intent step applies to Disruptive Ideas applicants. The page also shows a 7 September Open Day registration deadline, which has passed and is not the main proposal deadline.
Job and Scholarship is the discovery and verification layer. Confirm eligibility, dates, salary/funding and application instructions on the original source before submitting anything.
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