Trinity College Dublin and NUI Galway launched an innovative structured PhD programme in Child and Youth Research on October 12th last. The programme responds directly to society's need to better understand the lives of children and young people, including those facing significant adversity, and the widely recognised need for evidence-informed policies and practices. As well as developing a whole new cohort of researchers with strong expertise in a wide range of research methods, the programme will produce cutting-edge research tailored to the needs of policy makers and service providers. Seventeen graduate students have registered for the four-year programme which will increase research and understanding of the lives of children and young people in Ireland. According to Professor Sheila Greene of the Children's Research Centre in TCD, the programme will greatly enhance existing capacity for child and youth research in Ireland, while for Professor Pat Dolan of NUI Galway's Child and Family Research Centre, a major outcome will be a research community highly responsive to the needs of those working with children and young people and the needs of children and young people themselves. This programme is the first of its kind in these islands and as well as bringing together the resources of the two research centres in TCD and NUI Galway it involves four Schools: the School of Psychology and the School of Social Work and Social Policy at TCD and the School of Psychology and the School of Political Science and Sociology in NUI Galway. The programme will include lectures from experts in other third level institutions, both national and international. The Programme Directors welcomed the support received from the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and during the launch Emily Logan, Ombudsman for Children, announced a studentship for this course has been awarded. -ends-