Gary Crawley Head, Frontiers Eng & Science Directorate Science Foundation Ireland March 2006

1. Gary Crawley Head, Frontiers Eng & Science Directorate Science Foundation Ireland March 2006 a foundation for research

2. Reforming Higher Education for Innovation Higher Education plus R&D is a recipe for a knowledge based and innovation driven economy! For example, OECD 2005 Scoreboard: “Expenditure on research and development (R&D), higher education and software can be considered as investment in knowledge. Such investment is crucial for economic growth…” a foundation for research

3. Reforming Higher Education for Innovation • Strong, clear link between research and postgrad. ed. The Ph.D. degree is a Research degree. • But is investment in higher education and research sufficient? OR • Do we need to examine the process to produce better links to innovation and enterprise? Such investment is a necessary but not sufficient condition. • THIS IS THE QUESTION FOR TODAY’S SESSION? a foundation for research

4. Outline • Linking Research to Innovation: • The Irish Experience • Improvement of the quality of higher education • Focus on postgraduate education a foundation for research

5. OECD Economic Outlook (% change from previous year) a foundation for research

6. Irish Government Strategy: • Move Ireland up value chain: research- and innovation-driven economy • Attract, Grow R&D activities within Ireland • Broaden the activities of Multi National Corporations in Ireland (Investment Development Agency, IDA) • Be supportive of indigenous Small and Medium Enterprises, including start-ups (Enterprise Ireland, EI) Science Foundation Ireland is a key component in this strategy • build research excellence and human capital • foster academic-industry collaboration a foundation for research

7. A Brief History of SFI • Technology Foresight Study Report – April 1999 • Focus on ICT and Biotechnology • SFI launched – July 2000 €646 million from Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) • Director General, Bill Harris, appointed Sept 2001 • SFI becomes statutory body, July 2003 • Current annual budget is around €130 million a foundation for research

8. About Science Foundation Ireland SFI invests in academic researchers & teams who are most likely to generate new knowledge, leading edge technologies and competitive enterprises in: • Biotechnology • Information and Communications Technology • Frontiers Engineering and Science a foundation for research

9. Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Funding Mechanisms • Competitive research proposals • Emphasize Quality/Excellence • International reviewers • No interference from politicians or other government departments in SFI’s funding decisions • Flexible funding tools • Professional scientists as Programme Officers. a foundation for research

10. SFI - Programmes • Research Professorship - Up to €2.5M total for 5 years • PIYRA – up to €1M total for 4 years • INVESTIGATOR Awards – €50K to €1M per year for 3-5 years • Research Frontiers Programme – About €200K total over 3 years • CSETs – University-Industry Partnerships – up to €25M over 5 years • UREKA Programme – Undergraduate Research - 3 group awards • STARs – High School teachers summer programme - 50 awards • Walton Fellow Visitor Awards – International 6 month – 1 year • Workshops & Conferences Grants – up to €50K a foundation for research

11. CSETs - Centres for Science, Engineering, & Technology • SFI funding: up to €25m (€5m/yr), over 5 yrs, renewable • True centre: whole greater than sum of parts, synergy… • Partnerships with industry: 20% cost share (particularly people) Real intellectual partnerships • Strategically important to Ireland Inc.: advancing BioT and ICT • Research excellence: potential to be best in world – “edge” • Outstanding Director • Important Education & Outreach component a foundation for research

12. CTVR ICT CSETs (2003 & 2004) Digital Enterprise Research Institute Director: Dieter Fensel Web:www.deri.ie Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures & Nanodevices Director: John Pethica Web: www.crann.tcd.ie Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain-Driven Research Director: Donal O’Mahony Web:ctvr.tcd.ie a foundation for research

13. Impediments to Innovation • Intellectual Property agreements • Postgraduate education a foundation for research

14. Goals of IP Management Research Producing Organisation processes for managing and exploiting IP should be: • Open, reliable and useful for business and industry • Highly attractive to research sponsors and collaborators • Self perpetuating and self regulating • Efficient. a foundation for research

15. Issues in Postgraduate Education • Breadth in discipline • Mobility • Career paths • Professional training • Interdisciplinary programmes • Funding a foundation for research

16. Breadth in the Discipline • Thesis only PhD is norm in Ireland • Graduate course work needed. WHY? • Graduate qualifying examination? • Need to coordinate across institutions to provide courses in small countries. (these have small disciplinary departments) a foundation for research

17. Mobility • Undergraduates do graduate degrees in same institution. (Irish problem?) • International mobility • Visas • Funding eg Marie Curie Fellowships • Language a foundation for research

18. Career Paths • Belief in academia that best/only position is in a University. • How to encourage shift in attitude? • Internships • “Professional” training • Use alumni working for industry • Talks on entrepreneurship • Industrial advisory committees a foundation for research

19. Professional Training • Industry looks for: • Knowledge in a discipline • Problem solving skills • Communication skills both oral and written • Ability to work in a team • Grant writing a foundation for research

20. Interdisciplinary Programmes • Poor sister in many cases compared to traditional disciplines. • Often key to real world problems • Can use central administration eg Graduate Dean to provide leadership and promote. • BUT remember students need to be trained in depth in something a foundation for research

21. Funding • European vs US model. • US Universities spend more per student by about a factor of 2. ($22,000 vs $10,000 OECD average according to the Economist) • OECD Report recommended Ireland charge fees to make up shortfall in funding. Politically unattractive. a foundation for research

22. Summary • Ireland has moved forward economically but intends to move more to knowledge based. • SFI plays a key role in overall government strategy. • Ireland needs to revamp graduate education to better promote and support a knowledge based economy. • Important issues are breadth, mobility, career choices, professional training, interdisciplinarity and finances. a foundation for research

23. Contact Information E-mail: gary.crawley@sfi.ie Tel: 353-1-607-3268 Fax: 353-1-607-3201 a foundation for research

24. Industry Research Partnership Supplement To promote Academic – Industry collaborations • SFI-funded programmes: already passed international peer review • Directly related to & enhance existing SFI programmes • Support of up to €200,000 (up to €50k/year) • Exchange of personnel (PhDs & Post docs) and expertise between partners • Review Criteria: Benefits of the proposal to the existing programme, to the industrial partners, & its strategic impact on Ireland will be reviewed by the Foundation a foundation for research

25. SFI System • Staff make final recommendations, not panels, including budget recommendations • Recommendations are reviewed by Executive Committee of Directors at SFI • Reviews (anonymous) and panel summaries are shared with applicants both for awards and declinations. • Statistics and reviewers are published on SFI Web site. a foundation for research

26. Funding Agency Requirements and Guidelines for Managing Research-Generated Intellectual Property. • Promote common practice for IP management across funding agencies and Research Performing Orgainisations (RPOs). • Strongly encourage RPO, Business and industry research partnerships and technology commercialisation. • Support a consistent approach among RPOs for negotiating research and IP commercialisation agreements with any potential sponsors or collaborators. • Establish readily understandable procedures and effective incentives for all the vital contributors to IP creation and commercialisation. Prepared by the Commercialisation Steering Committee, Feb 2006 a foundation for research

27. Speech by Mary Hanafin, Irish Minister for Education and Science, 11 Dec 2005 “Creating capacity at fourth level is about having quality third level graduates capable of pursuing advanced post-graduate study and research and encouraging them to do this. This is essential to enhance Ireland’s international reputation as a knowledge hub” a foundation for research

28. OECD Economic Outlook a foundation for research