Dr Mark Keane wants to be a contributor to future development in Ireland, writes Karlin Lillington.

As science jobs go, it has to be one of the more daunting in the State, but UCD Professor of Computer Science Dr Mark Keane says he is game for his new role as Director of Information and Communications Technology at Science Foundation Ireland.

"I looked around and said, 'I can do this'," says the researcher and academic. Prof Keane brings a mixture of administrative, research and teaching background to the position being vacated by Dr Alastair Glass who, in turn, will move on to act as chairman of National Institute for Networking and Electronics Research in Cork.

But why does Prof Keane want to do it? "My motivations have always been to contribute to the future development of things in Ireland," he says.

Certainly he has long had a deep interest in such things. While his name might not be as well known in general science circles as some, he is held in high esteem as an astute industry and academic observer and a diplomatic and able manager, say many who have dealt with him.

All those skills will be in demand as he steps into a position overseeing the purse strings of the biggest ICT research and development investment fund in the state. He will exclude himself from evaluating projects involving UCD researchers or those in a handful of other areas that could be seen as a conflict of interest.

Nonetheless, he says, there's still a lingering suspicion in some quarters that research funding decisions are all determined on the basis of personal prejudice. As the first Irish academic in a leadership role at SFI, he feels he needs to change that perspective.

"Look, as a nation we have to get over this, the idea that there's always an angle, though I think there's now a minority saying that kind of thing. The international peer review system that we've brought in has guaranteed the independence of view at SFI."

The SFI system is more rigorous and independent than methods used by national funding bodies across Europe, he says. Europe is often accused of being weak and inward-looking when it comes to R&D, especially in contrast to the US, and Prof Keane believes this is largely due to the lack of external peer scrutiny and an overabundance of paperwork and administration.

Thus those that get funding are often good managers of the paperwork process, who know how to pitch to their domestic funding bodies, rather than the best researchers with international-calibre projects, he says.

He believes the SFI funding process - which he has benefited from, heading up a group doing research into adaptive research technologies - keeps its focus on work of international quality by having international reviewers who aren't based in this country.

With many SFI projects now up and running, a key job will be to begin an ongoing evaluation process, "to make sure we get the yield we want to get out of them. We have to maintain reactivity and responsibility."

Part of producing "fundamental research with a value" requires acting as a matchmaker between the ICT industry sector and academia - groups that in the past could be like chalk and cheese. Researchers are building up relations with industry now, he says, pointing to a number of major industry symposia currently on the calendar in the Republic, hosted by industry stalwarts such as Intel, Bell Labs, HP and IBM.

In Ireland these kinds of events "didn't exist two years ago," he says. They are evidence of how new levels of R&D - thought and practice - are coming into the country, leveraged off a growing foundation of projects and funding.

Yet many in the science and ICT community fear that funding - and SFI itself - could be transient, linked to political agendas or even a sole politician's interests. Prof Keane acknowledges the support for SFI that has come from the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, for example, but insists funding will be safe going forward.

Looking ahead, he says there's a need to increase government funding to bring R&D spending up from its current level of 1.1 per cent of GDP in the Republic to the European Commission's goal of 3 per cent of GDP by 2010.

Government also needs "to think hard" about evaluating and protecting intellectual property (IP), and should appoint an entity to oversee what he sees as an Ireland Inc IP portfolio, maintained in the same way that a corporation values and manages its IP. "We need a national unit, small and with expertise, and joint ownership between Government and the third level," he says.

Interestingly, he sees the Republic's small size as an advantage rather than a drawback in advancing its R&D profile, because people within the academic and industrial community tend to know each other. This allows "a flexibility and lightness that allows us to be very opportunistic" and a chance for ideas to be exchanged with ease.

He expresses real excitement about the hugely expanded research environment in the Republic and his chance to be involved with its development.

"What's happening at this time will be seen to be as important as the decision in the 60s to fund the universities; it will be viewed as very historically important," he says. "I'm doing this because I'd like to be part of that enterprise."

Factfile:

Name: Paul Kelly,

Age: 52.

Career: Educated at De La Salle Churchtown, he started his career in retailing with Dunnes Stores over 30 years ago. Joined Brown Thomas 20 years ago, rising to become managing director in 1994. He oversaw the purchase of Switzers and the expansion of the Awear and BT2 chains. Since February of this year, he has been chief executive of Brown Thomas Group and Selfridges & Co following the acquisition of the UK group by Brown Thomas's parent, Wittington Investments.

Family: Living with partner Shelly Corkery and their daughter Cameron. Has five other children: Richard, Paul, Ian, Sarah and Rachel.

Interests: Soccer, Formula 1 and gardening.

Why he is in the news: Brown Thomas has released its 2003 results.