RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT IN IRISH INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY

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1 RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT IN IRISH INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY Mr Paul Hannigan Director

2 NATIONAL POSITION REPUBLIC OF IRELAND State investment in research and development at 1.1% of GDP still lags well behind the EU average of 1.9% and the 2.7% of US To achieve national growth rates in research activity an additional 8,000 researchers will be required by A commensurate investment in infrastructure will have to take place The Higher Education Authority Review of Higher Education Participation in 2003 has shown that 44% (15,500) of all new entrants to higher education in Ireland in 2003 registered in the Institutes of Technology. With this level of entrants it is clear that the Institutes must be a central factor in any initiatives to improve Ireland s knowledge economy

3 SCIENCE GOVERNANCE IN IRELAND (1 of 2) Independent Chief Science Adviser Cabinet Committee on Science and Technology Interdepartmental Committee Chaired by Dept. Enterprise, Trade & Employment Department of Health and Children Department of Education and Science Department of Agriculture Department of the Environment Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Department of Finance Department of an Taoiseach

4 SCIENCE GOVERNANCE IN IRELAND (2 OF 2) Government Agencies Science Foundation Ireland Enterprise Ireland Industrial Development Authority Ireland Higher Education Authority Health Research Board Research Councils: IRCSET and IRCHSS

5 EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (1 of 2) Primary Level Training of Teachers Stimulation in and out of Classroom Secondary Level Curriculum Revision Current Science Topics Examined Why drop off of 90% from 2 nd to 3 rd Level

6 EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (2 OF 2) Third Level Excite the Curriculum Converging Technologies Career Structure for Researchers Public and Private Research Attraction of Young International Mobile Researchers to Ireland Early Stage Security i.e. 7 year public/private contracts Position of Senior Researcher

7 PRIORITY AND STRATEGIC RESEARCH AREAS ICT and Bio are priority areas. Strategic Research Areas/Disciplines: Physics Food Science & Technology Chemistry Clinical Research Mathematics Agriculture Geography Environmental Sciences Energy Marine Engineering Social & Economic Sciences Balance between Research and Technology Industry demand-driven technology Research must be strategically oriented.

8 RESEARCH CAPACITY Need for new mechanisms to increase research in Irish industry; to achieve the Lisbon criteria, business investment in R&D will have to account for the majority of the investment tax breaks, collaborative schemes with HE Number of researchers need to increase increase should be driven by strategic rather than numerical considerations must be aligned with increases in physical and senior research capacity to ensure the quality levels continue to improve Quality and number of senior researchers critical to any expansion of post-graduate researchers Researcher career structure to be developed

9 STATUS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITY IN INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY 59 Degrees conferred at doctoral level in period degrees conferred at master degree level in same period 787 students currently registered for research degrees at postgraduate level 142 at PhD and 645 at masters degree level 375 taught masters degrees conferred m competitive research funding secured in Core Research Strenght Enhancemnet projects ongoing in 10 Institutes of Technology 139 industrially relevant masters projects funded in thirteen Institutes in

10 STATUS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITY IN INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions: Five Institutes lead successful research programmes, with resources gained competitively to a total value of almost 14m. These programmes include disciplines such as 1. Biopolymer/Biomolecular Research 2. Environmental Science 3. Biotechnology/Environmental Research Science Foundation Ireland Initiatives Campus innovation centres currently exist at five Institutes and are under construction at the remainder with completion by mid-2006

11 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS Expansion of Centres of Excellence through PRTLI and SFI funding. Competitive funding assigned to IT s. Targeted investment is required to build on areas of research capacity in strategic areas within each institute. Capacity building and facility enhancement programmes. A research staff grade should be created to foster the development in Institutes of a research career. The continued growth of the sector requires an increased participation at postdoctoral level.

12 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS The impact of the current Technological Sector Research Programme (Strands I, II and III) has been significant in building high quality research capacity. Continued growth requires an extension of the Strands 1 & 3 programmes with a more realistic budget. Lack of Floor Funding for the Institutes. A baseline recurrent R & D budget needs to be provided for the Institutes. Low level of Institute representation on relevant national Boards and Committees.

13 NUMBERS OF CURRENT POSTGRADUATE REGISTRATIONS IN INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY Category Number MA 170 Master of Business 55 M. Engineering 76 MSc 344 PhD 142 Total 787