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Evaluating the Quality of Research and Innovation at
Faculty LevelMike Murphy,
Director and Dean
Faculty of Engineering
27 September, 2004
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Development of DIT 120 year heritage Ireland’s largest HEI Degree-awarding to PhD Strong quality assurance Responsive to industry 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.
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Dublin Institute of Technology
Student Body– 9,500 fulltime students in 85 programs
– 1,000 postgraduate students– 7,500 part-time students– 4,000 apprentice students
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
120 years of tech ed 25 years as DIT
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
DIT Research Objectives Foster a culture of research and
scholarship Inform and enliven teaching and
learning in the Institute Contribute to the development of
the nation’s innovation-base Respond to national and EU
priorities Build and reinforce links with and
for industry Train postgraduates for the
knowledge economy
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Some Research Numbers
National Indicators: 1.17% of GDP expenditure is on R&D ¹12% pa growth rate in R&D spend from 1997 – 2002
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
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
DIT Values & Tradition
Technical and engineering education for >100 years
Ladders of Opportunity for students
Excellent teaching tradition High student contact hours
for staff
Hons Degree4 years
B Eng Tech (3 yrs)Cert / Diploma (2/3 yrs)
Block releasefrom work
Postgrad Degrees
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Over 5,000 engineering students:– 2,000 full-time students– 1,000 part-time students – 2,000 apprentice students– 150 post-grad students
250 academic staff
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Faculty Research Profile Broad research interests among staff:
– Opto-electronics– Wireless networking– Surface engineering– Medical informatics– Biometrics– Control engineering
Specialised areas to international standards Industry and Research Centres
– Power and Power Quality– Computational Fluid Dynamics– Building Energy Systems– Materials & Materials Testing– Antennas and RF– Engineering Education
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Conferences:– 21st Century Engineering Education (DIT 21 October 2004)– Materials and Tribology– Engineering Design and Nano Technology
Books– Steelwork Corrosion Control Book and Seminar – Project Management– Handbook of Advanced Control Engineering
Journals:– International Journal of Engineering Education
Consultancy
Scholarly Activity
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Context for Research@DIT
Eureka!New Knowledge (…… I owe it all to Lisbon 2000!)
EU Increase research effort to 3% of EU GDP by 2010
IrishResearch 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
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Evaluating Research in the Faculty of Engineering
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
Engineering @ 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
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Evaluating Research in the Faculty – Key Metrics
External funding obtained Postgrad research degrees completed
and underway Refereed journal publications Postdoctoral appointments Refereed conference papers
CustomerPost-Grad & Research
Research funding, Postgrad Student Numbers, Papers
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Definition of Research 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
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Research Review –Key Outputs
2001 UK-RAE Grade 4 DIT Fac of Eng
Publications 4 1
Research Funding €375K €30K
PhD Students 1 pa na
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Results of Research Evaluation – Key Findings
Schools have pockets of research excellence which equate well to similar institutions in Ireland and UK, e.g., UK-RAE Grade 4
Much support was evident from academic staff to promote and further develop a research ethos
Development of a true research ethos requires full integration of all academic and technician activities
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Results of Research Evaluation – Findings (2)
High quality and quantity of output, although uneven within and across Schools
The lack of agreed KPI research metrics at Institute level was causing uncertainty
Growing numbers of PhD students and younger staff with PhD’s was positive
Effective and efficient interface to industry via collaborative projects was evident
Engineering @ 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
Engineering @ 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 students9. Appoint a research coordinator and postgrad
coordinator10. Academic staff recruitment policies should be
changed11. Thought should be given to how Research centres
should align to schools
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
What’s Easy; What’s Hard DIT history and culture: teaching
philosophy For Schools: students vs research Mandated contact hours per academic Tenure Rule of Thirds + carrots and sticks Research-only posts and progression Faculty balanced scorecard
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Next Steps Work through recommendations
– Which are implementable at School/Faculty level?– Which are Institutional?– Which are national?
Begin to measure everything Decide on one true KPI
– Research funding per academic staff member? Begin the (difficult) process of resource
allocation
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
Key Thoughts Research review: will it be a stick to beat you,
or an opportunity to learn? Reach agreement on the Terms of Reference. Whose definition of research will be used? Choosing the independent reviewers is
important. How will the report be disseminated
internally?
Engineering @ 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
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
National Context for Research
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)”.
Engineering @ DIT: Challenging, Fun & Rewarding
National Context for Research
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.”
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