NRP RIS Conference

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RESEARCH INFORMATION SYSTEMS - A LOOK AT EU BEST
PRACTICE Overview of IUA Research Strategy
Presentation by Dr. Conor OCarroll
Thursday 4th September 2008
www.iua.ie
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IRISH UNIVERSITIES ASSOCIATION

• 7 Universities

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IRISH UNIVERSITIES ASSOCIATION

• Representative body for the seven Irish
  universities.
• Work with and on behalf of members to develop
  strategy and associated actions to advance 3rd
  and 4th level education and research
• Maximise the universities' contribution to
  Ireland's social, cultural and economic well
  being

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Three main areas of activity

• Policy
• Funding (RGAM), Immigration, Access, Research
  Careers..
• Leading Sectoral Projects
• HEA Strategic Innovation Fund I II
• Services
• EC Marie Curie and Researcher Mobility Office

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• STRATEGY
• a plan designed to achieve a particular
  long-term objective

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Long Term Objectives of the Universities
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IUA STRATEGY
At the heart of University strategy is the drive
to combine Research, Teaching and Learning, and
Knowledge Transfer into a seamless, mutually
reinforcing whole IUA SIF II Proposal October
2007 Reform of 3rd Level and Creation of 4th
Level Ireland, October 2005 (IUA)
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4th Level Ireland
Bike Report - Building Irelands Knowledge
Economy (2004) - National Action Plan on RD -
spend on RD as percentage of GDP to rise from
1.4 to 2.5 by 2014 - double numbers of
researchers in Ireland by 2010 OECD Review of
Higher Education - Increase ranking of Irish
Universities - Double PhD Output (now target for
2013 relative to 2003 levels) Reform of 3rd
Level and Creation of 4th Level Ireland
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4th Level Ireland

• Reform and Innovation at 3rd Level
• Creating a world-class 4th Level Ireland
• Enabling Initiatives Intra and
  inter-institutional approaches

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IUA STRATEGY
Over the last ten years the major increases in
State funding for research have been a catalyst
in the transformation of universities
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Higher Education Authority
The HEA Programme for Research in Third Level
Institutions (PRTLI) has helped create a core
physical and human foundation for research
excellence. It has funded 97,000 square metres of
new research space, including almost 20,000
square metres of new library space. It is
supporting over 1,600 researchers and has
provided the research and library spaces required
by researchers funded by others.
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Science Foundation Ireland
The investment of 635m through Science
Foundation Ireland has enabled the universities
to attract and support over 200 world class
research teams in ICT and Biotechnology. It has
also established Centres for Science Technology
and Engineering (CSETS) involving collaboration
between outstanding researchers and world leading
companies in areas such as medical therapy,
software engineering and nanotechnology
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Research Councils
The Science (IRCSET) and Humanities (IRCHSS)
research councils have so far supported 1,425
researchers through a range of individual support
schemes ranging from post-graduate scholarships
to professorial fellowships.
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IUA STRATEGY
The current national investment in RD is through
the Strategy for Science Technology and
Innovation (SSTI). The universities are fully
committed to working with government on SSTI
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• Strategic decision to develop world-class
  research system in Ireland
• Increase research capacity, quality and output
• Develop 4th Level Ireland
• Double PhD output, structure training, develop
  careers, encourage mobility
• Estimated additional cost of 1.88 billion to
  2013
• Spending predicted of 2.7 billion to 2008 to
  implement strategy
• Provision for
• 350 PIs
• 1050 Postdocs
• 3500 PhD Students

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IUA STRATEGY
The impact of increased research activity has
brought about the need for funding and structural
changes within the universities,
including. Graduate (PhD) education Research
Overheads Research Careers Data and Information
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IUA STRATEGY
Change can only happen through collaboration
within and across universities working with the
entire HE sector and government agencies and
departments
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IUA STRATEGY
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IUA STRATEGY
The DES / HEA Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) has
provided the means for universities to work
together and implement their collective strategies
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4th Level Ireland
Key points

• Core Masters and PhD programmes
• National Framework for these Programmes
• Move from apprenticeship to structured research
  training,
• Branch points linking Masters/PhD
• Lifelong learning and skills development
• Strong links to external stakeholders

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Growth in PhD graduates predicted in SSTI
Note HSS numbers include post-docs
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Human Capital - Projections
530/187
997/315
05 06 07 08 09 10
11 12 13
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PhD Comparisons
363/187
125/89
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4th Level Ireland

• Deans of Graduate Studies running the 4th Level
  Network funded under SIF
• Developed skills statement
• Structuring at national level and promote
  integration of PhD generic, personal and
  professional skills development.
• ECTS
• Engaging with industry and stakeholders to share
  and embed best practice
• Attracting international PhD students to Ireland

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What do we know about our PhD students?

• We know that 25 of undergraduates want to do a
  PhD
• The average age of PhD students is approximately
  26
• Approximately 30 of PhD students are from
  outside Ireland
• Approximately 40 of PhD students are single with
  the remainder being married, co-habiting or in a
  relationship. 8 of PhD students have children.
• Data from Irish Universities Study (IUS), SIF
  project

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What do we know about our PhD students?

• Scholarships are the main income source for PhD
  students, comprising approximately 60 per cent of
  PhD student income
• Removing outliers, median monthly PhD income is
  approximately 1,200 euro
• Debt levels are low among PhD students, with
  approximately half of PhD students holding no
  debt and median debt levels among PhD students
  being approximately 200 euro
• Data from Irish Universities Study (IUS), SIF
  project

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IUA STRATEGY
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Open Access to Research Output

• Coordinated by the IUA Librarians
• IREL-Open Project is building a federated online
  open access repository service for Ireland
• For the first time, Irish research will be made
  freely
• available worldwide www.irel-open.ie
• Seven universities, DIT, WIT, HSE

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IUA STRATEGY
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National Research Platform

• Web presence of Irish research is fragmented,
  relatively inaccessible and lacking structure of
  content
• There is valuable experience in developing the
  IUA portal www.expertiseireland.com from
  2004-2007
• Feasibility study to to showcase and disseminate
  research in Ireland to national and global
  audiences

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IUA STRATEGY
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IUA STRATEGY
At the heart of University strategy is the drive
to combine Research, Teaching and Learning, and
Knowledge Transfer into a seamless, mutually
reinforcing whole IUA SIF II Proposal October
2007 Reform of 3rd Level and Creation of 4th
Level Ireland, October 2005 (IUA)