Smart Manufacturing Advanced Research Training for Industry 4.0

2026-07-22

SMART 4.0 is a Fellowship Programme aimed at providing world-class training and research opportunities to 16 post-doctoral fellows in the area of Smart Manufacturing. SMART 4.0, a training, mobility and career development programme, will offer fellowships for incoming mobility of Experienced Researchers. The 24-month training programme will include a project from the fundamental and/or applied research fields of smart manufacturing, a compulsory 3-month secondment at an industry partner (19 placements already pledged), a spring and international summer school, and training in a series of scientific and transferable skills. The training focuses on delivering the next generation Smart Manufacturing leaders with strong “systems-level thinking” interdisciplinary skills to help drive Industry 4.0 forward for Europe. The role of industry is paramount throughout the programme design and implementation due to its critical importance to Europe’s economy. Furthermore, SMART 4.0 is committed to tackle gender inequalities, paying specific attention to attracting and supporting female researchers within smart manufacturing. SMART will publish 2 calls for proposals to attract the very best researchers. Researchers are invited to submit proposals, using an individually-driven, bottom-up approach. The evaluation and selection process will follow the principles of the Charter & Code and will be open, transparent, merit-based and equitable. It will include a remote peer review phase and an interview phase. SMART 4.0 will be implemented by Confirm, a dedicated Smart Manufacturing Research Centre, which brings together 8 Irish universities and a large group of industry partners and international collaborators, constituting an excellent dedicated training environment for the fellows. SMART 4.0 will support increasing Europe’s critical mass in the field of smart manufacturing, as well as support Confirm to host international talent in relevant scientific areas to deliver Industry 4.0.

Ireland

2026-02-01