What Smart Futures does

Smart Futures is a government STEM-career promotion programme associated with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Ireland's national competitive research funding agency. The programme targets second-level students in Ireland with the objective of promoting STEM subjects and STEM-related career pathways. The associated SFI/Research Ireland organisation distributes competitive research funding to Irish academic institutions and industry collaborators, and operates a network of 17 SFI Research Centres spanning digital content (ADAPT), materials science (AMBER), microbiome (APC), bioeconomy (BiOrbic), telecommunications (CONNECT), medical devices (CÚRAM), neurology (FutureNeuro), geoscience (iCRAG), advanced manufacturing (I-Form), data analytics (Insight), photonics (IPIC), software engineering (Lero), marine energy (MaREI), pharmaceutical manufacturing (SSPC), and digital agriculture (VistaMilk).

The entity's operational technology is the coordination infrastructure of these 17 centres plus an industry collaboration programme, Centres for Research Training (graduate and postdoctoral pipeline), international research partnerships, and public engagement programmes including Science Week, Curious Minds, and the Science in Ireland Barometer. Distribution to researchers and industry partners occurs through competitive funding calls, grant programmes, and direct engagement with the Research Centre network; there is no commercial product, SaaS offering, or proprietary platform.

The business model is non-commercial: as a statutory government body, Smart Futures/SFI/Research Ireland is funded through Irish government appropriations rather than product or service revenue, has no shareholders, and does not raise capital through venture funding rounds. It does not operate a pricing model. Effective 1 August 2024, SFI was amalgamated with the Irish Research Council to form Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, consolidating the national competitive research and innovation funding mandate under a single statutory agency headquartered at Three Park Place, Hatch Street Upper, Dublin 2 (D02 FX65), Ireland.

Name

Smart Futures

Legal name

Science Foundation Ireland

Website

https://smartfutures.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Smart Futures is an Irish government STEM-career promotion programme for second-level students, linked to Science Foundation Ireland (now Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland), Ireland's largest competitive research funding agency operating 17 national research centres.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education and Career Outreach

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Math & STEM Learning Technology (incl. Coding/Robotics Platforms) (EDAJAMAG)

Keywords

• STEM career promotion
• Science education outreach
• Workforce awareness program
• Secondary education program
• STEM industry engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Smart Futures is a government industry program that promotes STEM subjects-related careers to second-level students in Ireland. It operates as an outreach and awareness initiative, delivered through schools and industry partners to inform students about career pathways in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Product overview

No information available. The source content pertains to Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), now operating as Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, which is Ireland's national competitive research and innovation funding agency established through the amalgamation of SFI and the IRC. There is no product, service, or technology offering information for a company named Smart Futures in the provided sources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smart Futures STEM Career Promotion Program

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Industry Collaboration ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFI's industry collaboration programme enables enterprise and industrial companies to partner with academic researchers and SFI Research Centres on funded research projects. Partners gain access to research expertise, skilled graduates, and innovation opportunities.
• International Research PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFI's international programmes facilitate cross-border research collaboration, positioning Ireland within global research networks and enabling Irish researchers to participate in international research initiatives.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): UKRI is the UK's national research and innovation funding body, formed by merging the Research Councils and Innovate UK. It is structurally analogous to Research Ireland, with comparable STEM talent development and public engagement remits relevant to Smart Futures' pipeline role.
• Irish Research Council (now Research Ireland): The Irish Research Council was Ireland's other major national research funder and was amalgamated into Research Ireland alongside SFI in August 2024. It shares the government research-funding and talent-development mandate that frames Smart Futures and previously co-funded STEM-relevant postgraduate scholarships.
• National Science Foundation (NSF): The NSF is the US national science funding agency and operates comparable STEM talent-pipeline programmes such as INCLUDES and STEM education research grants. It is the closest international governmental peer to SFI/Research Ireland in mandate, scale, and STEM workforce development role.

Direct peers

• WISE Campaign: WISE is a UK-based social enterprise campaigning for gender balance in STEM, particularly targeting girls and young women at school and university stages. It is a comparable peer in STEM outreach messaging aimed at widening the second-level talent pipeline into STEM careers.
• STEM Learning Ltd: STEM Learning is the UK's largest STEM education charity, delivering STEM enrichment programmes to schools and young people. It shares Smart Futures' mission of building STEM engagement and career aspiration among secondary students through teacher support, resources, and ambassador networks.
• Junior Achievement Ireland: Junior Achievement Ireland is a non-profit delivering work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and STEM education programmes to Irish second-level students. It overlaps with Smart Futures in targeting secondary school students with career-oriented educational programming in Ireland.
• Science Gallery International: Science Gallery International, spun out of Trinity College Dublin, runs youth-focused public engagement programmes that bring science and technology to young audiences through exhibitions and events. It is comparable to Smart Futures in mission (STEM engagement for young people) and Irish origins.
• Engineers Ireland (STEPS programme): Engineers Ireland runs the STEPS programme, a direct Irish STEM outreach initiative promoting engineering careers to second-level students. It overlaps directly with Smart Futures in target audience (secondary school students), mission (STEM career promotion), and operating geography (Ireland), making it the closest comparable.

Emerging players

• CoderDojo: CoderDojo is an Irish-founded global movement of volunteer-led coding clubs for young people, focused on digital and computational skills. It overlaps with Smart Futures in targeting youth STEM engagement and originates from the same Irish ecosystem.

Others

• Science Foundation Ireland (legacy entity): SFI is the direct parent entity of Smart Futures and now operates as Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland. While not a standalone peer, it provides the institutional, funding, and research-centre infrastructure that Smart Futures operates within, making it the most directly comparable organisational context.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SmartFuturesIE
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@researchireland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/research-ireland
• Instagraminstagram.com/researchireland
• TikToktiktok.com/@researchireland
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartfutures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart Futures