Strategy for Research and Innovation Professor Terry Smith Vice President for Research Deans and Heads Meeting April 17 th 2009

Strategy for Research and Innovation Objective and Vision  Objective NUI Galway to be firmly embedded among the top rank of research universities internationally  Vision NUI Galway to be recognised nationally and internationally for its leadership position in selected priority areas of research and innovation

Strategic Research Objectives  Focus on research excellence, and on regional and national strategic priorities  Concentration on selected priority areas with critical mass and track record of achievement  Collaboration and alliances with strategic partners (region, national, international)  Focus on Innovation, and Industry partnerships to build the Smart Economy  Improve Physical infrastructure

Irish Studies, Texts, Contexts & Cultures Human Rights Digital Humanities Irish Studies, Texts, Contexts & Cultures Human Rights Digital Humanities Thematic Priorities Biomedical Science & Engineering Environment, Marine & Energy Applied Social Sciences & Public Policy Informatics, Physical & Computational Sciences Humanities in Context Major Institutes & Centres Fundamental/ Theoretical Continuum of Research Activities Applied Cross- thematic activities Photonics and Imaging High Performance computing/bioinformatics Ethics and bioethical research Biomedical Engineering Cancer Infection Inflammation, and Immunity Neurosciences Regenerative Medicine Biomedical Engineering Cancer Infection Inflammation, and Immunity Neurosciences Regenerative Medicine Applied Computing Photonics Semantic Web & Web Services Applied Computing Photonics Semantic Web & Web Services Climate change Environment Marine Energy Climate change Environment Marine Energy Innovation Social Inclusion Health Balanced Development Innovation Social Inclusion Health Balanced Development NCBES REMEDI NFB AGRC CBAS IBI CCB CPR MDRG NCBES REMEDI NFB AGRC CBAS IBI CCB CPR MDRG Moore Institute Irish Studies ICHR Moore Institute Irish Studies ICHR MRI ECI ERC Power Electronics C-CAPS MRI ECI ERC Power Electronics C-CAPS CISC ICSG CHPS CFCR CHSRD CISC ICSG CHPS CFCR CHSRD DERI CHPC NCLA Applied Optics DERI CHPC NCLA Applied Optics Digital Technologies

Recent Achievements  Overall, research publications and citations have doubled, with citations per academic staff member increasing by over 20% annually since 2003  Strategic appointment of International research leaders  63 new Chair appointments, >150 Lectureships  SFI CSETs (REMEDI and DERI), and SRCs (NFB and AGRC)  Biorefinery and Bioenergy Competence Centre (EI)  Major industry collaborations and partnerships with world leaders and start-up companies

Recent Achievements  UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement, the first such Chair in the Republic of Ireland  Substantial AP funding for Life Cycle Research  Major PRTLI and other funding successes for Humanities and Social Sciences  Andrew W. Mellon Foundation award for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies

Technology Transfer  TT Office established in 2005 to manage Innovation  Leading Irish University in Technology Transfer ( )  91 Invention disclosures  101 Patents filed (28% of HEI sector output)  33 licence and option agreements (30% of sector output)  6 Start-up companies (2006 – 2008)  Business Innovation Centre  Entrepreneurs in Residence  Campus Commercialisation Programme  Start-Up Solutions

PRTLI Cycle 5  €300m national competition for funding  €200m for infrastructure (capital)  €100m for research related funding (recurrent)  Objectives  Concentrated research-intensive excellence through investment in priority research areas and facilities  Inter-institutional co-operation and industry partners  Support the provision of structured education and training for graduate researchers  Build the SMART economy

TRF-CRF | SOUTHWEST APPROACH 1.Research Buildings Biomedical ResearchHumanities & Social Sciences Translational Biomedical Research

2.Other PRTLI 5 Programmes  National Shared Facilities  Environmental Technology Centre Ireland (EPA)  SmartBay (Marine Institute)  Chemical Biology Screening Facility (SFI)  National Audio Visual Repository  Structured PhD programmes (8 proposals)  Biomedical Science and Engineering  Humanities and Social Sciences  Energy and Environmental Technologies  Nanotechnology/Photonics

Strategic Priorities to 2014  Prioritisation by building on research strengths  Focus on increasing the quality of research outputs  Targeted new appointments in research priority areas  Responsiveness to regional and national economic needs  Increased engagement with key industry sectors  Partnership and Collaboration with research organisations  Enhanced partnerships with Institutions in the region  Strategic alliances and collaborations with world-leading Institutions in research priority areas  Increased emphasis on Innovation, and on Start-up company formation

Enhancing Regional Partnerships  Collaborative R&D and Tech. Transfer with public sector partners  Lionra partnership with BMW Institutes  Teagasc and Marine Institute  Georgia Tech Ireland  Increased interactions with UL  Research collaborations in Biomedical Engineering and Energy  Increased collaboration in Technology Transfer  Enhanced industry partnerships  Biomedical and ICT sectors  Other sectors of regional strategic importance

Specific Targets to 2014  15 new Professorial appointments, and 30 new academic staff members with internationally recognised research programmes across thematic priority areas  Increase research funding to >€80 m and increase EU funding to 15% of total funding by 2014  Increase PhD student intake by 75% between 2009 and 2014  Increase peer-review journal publications, books and monographs by an average of 12% per annum  Increase citations by an average of 20% per annum, with individual targets being assigned to each School