Professor Frank Gannon

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Professor Frank Gannon UCC visit 20 February
2009 SFI Strategy 2009 - 2013
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SFI Strategy 2009-2013
1. Human Capital
2. Quality Output
4. Knowledge Transfer
3. Global Reputation
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1. Build a critical mass of internationally
competitive research teams in Ireland in the
sciences and engineering underpinning BIO, ICT,
and ENERGY
Human Capital
.. such that 1. the Irish workforce is
upskilled to the needs of a high-tech Economy 2.
the absorptive capacity of the country is
adjusted to the need to identify and incorporate
externally developed technologies and 3. that
Ireland is well placed to attract and grow high
value enterprises
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1. . Human CapitalBuild a critical mass of
internationally competitive research teams in
Ireland in the sciences and engineering
underpinning BIO, ICT, and ENERGY

• Why?
• Human capital build up for a knowledge economy
• What?
• 440 world class teams
• providing
• 2000 PhD graduates 350/year ? gt500/year

SSTI
YEAR PI TEAMS 2005 200 2006 236 2007
284 2008 336 2009-13 440 (104)
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1. Table A1 Roll Out of PhD places and graduate
schedule

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1. Human CapitalBuild a critical mass of
internationally competitive research teams in
Ireland in the sciences and engineering
underpinning BIO, ICT, and ENERGY

• Why?
• Human capital build up for a knowledge economy
• What?
• 440 world class teams
• providing
• 2000 PhD graduates 350/year ? gt500/year
• 1000 Post Doc places
• How?
• SFIs broad portfolio of programmes (recruit,
  retain, grow)
• Financial SSTI resourcing (8.2b 1.4b)

SSTI
YEAR PI TEAMS 2005 200 2006 236 2007
284 2008 336 2009-13 440 (104)
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2. Ensure that SFI-funded research teams continue
to produce the highest quality output
Human Capital
Quality Output
as this is the best external endorsement of the
scientific value obtained from research
investment
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2. Quality Ensure that SFI-funded research teams
continue to produce the highest quality output

• Why?
• Quality is ultimate arbiter of training
• High tech enterprise seeks only quality academic
  output
• Only top quality academic output provides
  sustainable knowledge for innovation
• What?
• Quantity gt1200 publications/million population

current level of 800
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2. Publication Quantity
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2. QualityDrive the highest quality output from
the SFI funded research teams

• Why?
• Quality is ultimate arbiter of training
• High tech enterprise seeks only quality academic
  output
• What?
• Quantity gt1200 publications/million population
• Quality top 10 placement in citation
  performers

from current position of 17th (source Thompson
1981-2007)
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2. Publication Quality
Citation Impact (5year overlapping periods
1981-2007)

SourceThompson ISI
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2. Publication Quality
SourceThompson ISI 1981 - 2007
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2. QualityDrive the highest quality output from
the SFI funded research teams

• Why?
• Quality is ultimate arbiter of training
• High tech enterprise seeks only quality academic
  output
• What?
• Quantity gt1200 publications/million population
• Quality top 10 placement in citation performers
• How?
• Continued peer review tighter monitoring
• International funding
• Internationalisation

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3. Increase Irelands global reputation as a
location of excellent scientific research and as
a source of human and knowledge capital
Human Capital
Quality Output
Global Reputation
...such that businesses creating next
generation products and services are attracted to
and retained in Ireland
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3. Global ReputationIncrease Irelands global
reputation as a location of excellent scientific
research and as a source of human and knowledge
capital

• Why?
• Specific measures are required to drive
  international recognition of Ireland as a magnet
  of attraction for academic researchers high
  tech companies
• What?
• Recruit prize-potential overseas PIs
• Continue overseas PI recruitment
  internationalisation
• Target hosting of premium international
  conferences e.g. Keystone
• Nimbleness for emerging challenges and
  opportunities by constant scanning of the
  environment for signals that require changes of
  emphasis in the SFI programmes
• Assist IDA, directly and indirectly, in retaining
  in and attracting to Ireland high-tech foreign
  direct investment
• How?
• Employ recruitment toolset exploit key
  relationships
• Expand conference/programmes activities
• Build networks

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4. Knowledge TransferProvide quality inputs to
the technology transfer/translational industries
in Ireland and grow partnerships that enable the
expansion of the national RDI footprint, to
ensure that research is optimally exploited for
the benefit of Irish society
Human Capital
Quality Output
Knowledge Transfer
Global Reputation
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4. Transfer Provide quality inputs to the
technology transfer/translational industries in
Ireland and grow partnerships that enable the
expansion of the national RDI footprint, to
ensure that research is optimally exploited for
the benefit of Irish society

• Why?
• Ultimately the use of research to drive expansion
  in high tech/high value enterprise is the driver
  of all of our activties
• What?
• Drive early IP protection 1000 x IDs and 500 x
  patents
• License technology (40) spin out companies (30)
• Increase MNC (50) SME (40) participation in
  research
• How?
• Communicate monitor IP protection output of SFI
  groups
• Drive CSET/SRC expansion
• Establish periodic briefings on SFI output

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SFI Strategy 2009-2013
1. Human Capital
2. Quality Output
4. Knowledge Transfer
3. Global Reputation