MTC - YOUNG INVESTIGATOR RESEARCH GRANT (YIRG)
About the Grant
The Manufacturing, Trade & Connectivity Young Individual Research Grant (MTC YIRG) supports Singapore-based, early‑career researchers for independent, curiosity-driven research in physical sciences and engineering areas.
Funding of up to S$325,000 per project (inclusive of 30% indirect costs) is available for a project duration of up to three years.
Proposals will be solicited through a grant call mechanism.
Watch this space for updates in May 2026.
The list of projects awarded under the MTC YIRG Grant Call can be found here.
Eligibility
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Academic qualification | PhD (not more than 7 years post-PhD) |
| Employment | PI must hold a primary appointment of at least 75% in a local publicly funded institute (E.g. Minimum of 9 month's employment (per year) with a local Singapore Institution throughout project duration) Team PI/Co-Investigator (Co-I) must hold an appointment in a local publicly funded institution |
| Past funding | Awardees of the following grants will not be eligible for MTC YIRG (non-exhaustive list)
|
| No. of submissions | Applicants are only allowed to submit one application per call as a PI |
Open to all public research performers in Singapore
| Host Institute | Quota |
| National University of Singapore (NUS) | 15 |
| Nanyang Technological University (NTU) | 15 |
| A*STAR Research Entities | 15 |
| Public Sector Research Performers/ Other Institute of Higher Learning (IHLs) Institute | 2 |
Institutional quota applies for each grant call: 15 each from NUS, NTU and A*STAR Research Entities, and 2 from other IHLs/public sector organisations.
Applications must be endorsed by the Host Institution’s Research Director or equivalent prior to submission.
Application Procedure
Supporting resources (for reference)
Please refer to this guide for Milestone & Benchmark Settings.
Event
MTC IRG YIRG Symposium 2022
The inaugural Manufacturing, Trade and Connectivity (MTC) Individual Research Grant (IRG)/Young Investigator Research Grant (YIRG) Symposium 2022 was held on 14th June 2022. More than 100 researchers attended the symposium that comprises of key presentations, scientific talks, posters display and networking session.
For Enquiries
For further clarifications, please contact irg_mtc@a-star.edu.sg.