Evaluating the Quality of Research and Innovation at Faculty Level Mike Murphy, Director and Dean Faculty of Engineering 27 September, 2004

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Development of DIT n 120 year heritage n Ireland’s largest HEI n Degree-awarding to PhD n Strong quality assurance n Responsive to industry n Many unique programmes To provide vocational and technical education and training for the economic, technological, scientific, commercial, industrial, social and cultural development of the State. To engage in research, consultancy and development work.

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Dublin Institute of Technology n Student Body –9,500 fulltime students in 85 programs –1,000 postgraduate students –7,500 part-time students –4,000 apprentice students n DIT is organised around 6 Faculties: »Faculty of Applied Arts »Faculty of the Built Environment »Faculty of Business »Faculty of Engineering »Faculty of Science »Faculty of Tourism & Food n 120 years of tech ed n 25 years as DIT

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding DIT Research Objectives n Foster a culture of research and scholarship n Inform and enliven teaching and learning in the Institute n Contribute to the development of the nation’s innovation-base n Respond to national and EU priorities n Build and reinforce links with and for industry n Train postgraduates for the knowledge economy

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Some Research Numbers n National Indicators:  1.17% of GDP expenditure is on R&D ¹  12% pa growth rate in R&D spend from 1997 – 2002 n HEI Research Numbers ²: –Best University Research Income/Academic: €106K –DIT Research Income/Academic: €10K ¹ EC/eurostat: Statistics on Science and Technology in Europe (2003) ² 2003 data, The Sunday Times, September 12, 2004

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding DIT Values & Tradition n Technical and engineering education for >100 years n Ladders of Opportunity for students n Excellent teaching tradition n High student contact hours for staff Hons Degree 4 years B Eng Tech (3 yrs) Cert / Diploma (2/3 yrs) Block release from work Postgrad Degrees

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding n Over 5,000 engineering students: –2,000 full-time students –1,000 part-time students –2,000 apprentice students –150 post-grad students n 250 academic staff

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Faculty Research Profile n Broad research interests among staff: –Opto-electronics –Wireless networking –Surface engineering –Medical informatics –Biometrics –Control engineering n Specialised areas to international standards n Industry and Research Centres – Power and Power Quality – Computational Fluid Dynamics – Building Energy Systems – Materials & Materials Testing – Antennas and RF – Engineering Education

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding n Conferences: –21 st Century Engineering Education (DIT 21 October 2004) –Materials and Tribology –Engineering Design and Nano Technology n Books –Steelwork Corrosion Control Book and Seminar –Project Management –Handbook of Advanced Control Engineering n Journals: –International Journal of Engineering Education n Consultancy Scholarly Activity

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Context for Eureka! New Knowledge (…… I owe it all to Lisbon 2000!) EU Increase research effort to 3% of EU GDP by 2010 Irish Research is a core element of the mission of higher ed (Natl Dev Plan) “… create a world class research, development and innovation capacity and infrastructure in Ireland …” DIT DIT Research Goals: (i) advance research and scholarship … whilst developing the expertise of its staff and students and positively impacting upon … educational programmes; (ii) support Ireland’s requirement for a knowledge-based society by engaging in research and scholarship to produce new knowledge workers. Faculty School More papers, more proposals, more funding Increasing emphasis on research cohesion Balance teaching mission vs. research mission

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Evaluating Research in the Faculty of Engineering n Formal review of Engineering research conducted by Directorate of Research & Enterprise – Spring Term 2004 –Research defined as applied and basic –Review conducted by two international (independent) academics with experience in assessment of research in engineering –Review via documentation, two day visit, interviews with research community –Report to Director of Research & Enterprise

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Reviewers were asked to Consider: –Research strategically important to Faculty –Areas where Faculty performs well, or could perform well –Current Research that should not be part of Faculty’s strategy –Facilities available for researchers –Pervasiveness of research throughout Faculty –How Faculty can better support teams and individuals –Quality and Relevance of Faculty research in relation to national and international standards –Relevance of Faculty research to the needs of industry and society, and compliance with DIT Research Strategy –Faculty research achievements over previous three years –Scope, balance and cohesion of research portfolio –Effectiveness of Faculty’s links with industry –Extent and effectiveness of partnerships with other HEI’s

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Evaluating Research in the Faculty – Key Metrics n External funding obtained n Postgrad research degrees completed and underway n Refereed journal publications n Postdoctoral appointments n Refereed conference papers Post-Grad & Research Research funding, Postgrad Student Numbers, Papers

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Definition of Research n The Institute adapts the OECD definition of research and experimental development as its definition of research and scholarship: –Any creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge transfer, or to develop new materials useful for teaching and learning, or to add to the stock of creative works and includes applied and basic research, consultancy and experimental development. –These activities are characterised by originality, have investigation as a primary objective, have the potential to produce results that add to humanity’s knowledge (theoretical or practical) and are open to public scrutiny via peer review. –Research is undertaken by academic staff and students

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Research Review – Key Outputs 2001 UK-RAE Grade 4DIT Fac of Eng Publications41 Research Funding€375K€30K PhD Students 1 pana

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Results of Research Evaluation – Key Findings n Schools have pockets of research excellence which equate well to similar institutions in Ireland and UK, e.g., UK-RAE Grade 4 n Much support was evident from academic staff to promote and further develop a research ethos n Development of a true research ethos requires full integration of all academic and technician activities

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Results of Research Evaluation – Findings (2) n High quality and quantity of output, although uneven within and across Schools n The lack of agreed KPI research metrics at Institute level was causing uncertainty n Growing numbers of PhD students and younger staff with PhD’s was positive n Effective and efficient interface to industry via collaborative projects was evident

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Review Recommendations (1) 1. It is important … that any progress in scholarly activities must not be at the expense of undergraduate education 2. Create an environment in which scholarly work is encouraged, facilitated and rewarded 3. Continue to engage all staff in dialogue as DIT and Faculty continue to increase research ethos 4. Research active staff must be given adequate support in terms of infrastructure and facilities 5. Research goals and objectives must be ambitious but achieveable

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Review Recommendations (2) 6. Research time allocation must be addressed structurally 7. Metrics at school, faculty and Institute level must be clear and aligned 8. Increase the number of research students 9. Appoint a research coordinator and postgrad coordinator 10. Academic staff recruitment policies should be changed 11. Thought should be given to how Research centres should align to schools

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding What’s Easy; What’s Hard n DIT history and culture: teaching philosophy n For Schools: students vs research n Mandated contact hours per academic n Tenure n Rule of Thirds + carrots and sticks n Research-only posts and progression n Faculty balanced scorecard

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Next Steps n Work through recommendations –Which are implementable at School/Faculty level? –Which are Institutional? –Which are national? n Begin to measure everything n Decide on one true KPI –Research funding per academic staff member? n Begin the (difficult) process of resource allocation

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding Key Thoughts n Research review: will it be a stick to beat you, or an opportunity to learn? n Reach agreement on the Terms of Reference. n Whose definition of research will be used? n Choosing the independent reviewers is important. n How will the report be disseminated internally?

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding The Faculty of Engineering is committed to excellence in the provision of accessible, multi-level education and training [what we do] so as to benefit our students and staff, enterprise and society [why we do it]. The Faculty achieves this through a student-centered ethos within a culture of lifelong learning supported by the highest standards in teaching, scholarship & research [our values]. Our Mission Statement

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding National Context for Research n OECD Review of Higher Education in Ireland, September 2004 –Review was set in context of the Government’s strategic objective of “placing its higher education system in the top rank of OECD in terms of both quality and levels of participation and by the priority to create a world class research, development and innovation capacity and infrastructure in Ireland as part of the wider EU objective for becoming the world’s most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy and society, as agreed in Lisbon (2000)”.

DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding National Context for Research n Enterprise Strategy Group, “Ahead of the Curve – Ireland’s Place in the Global Economy,” July 2004 –“We believe that enterprise in Ireland, while having highly developed manufacturing ability, lacks capability in two essential areas: international sales and marketing and the application of technology to develop high value products and services.”