The Republic must develop its scientific research capacity to avoid becoming an "outpost" according to the leader of an OECD-funded (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) study into higher education. Research is "vital" for national economic development and will influence companies to open here.
An international group of academics and researchers from abroad gathered in Dublin yesterday for a two-day conference on how best to build research capabilities in third-level institutions. They heard details of an ongoing study on how to boost research in "new and emerging higher education institutions" co-funded by the OECD and the Dublin Institute of Technology.
The study involves 23 institutions in states including New Zealand, Australia, UK, Denmark, Belgium, China, Canada, Finland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Japan and Ireland, said Dr Ellen Hazelkorn, head of the faculty of applied arts at DIT, who is leading the research.
It looks in particular at what she described as "late developers and newcomers" to scientific research, many of them set up within the last 30 years. While long-established third-level institutions had a record of research, these "new and emerging higher education institutions" needed to develop strategies to become fully engaged in research, she said yesterday.
"You could see it as a geopolitical issue on knowledge production," she said. The research sector was a "very competitive environment" both for funding and a diminishing number of suitable students. The study involved pooling ideas, methods and systems between the institutions to establish "best practice" which could be shared, Dr Hazelkorn said.
"The research agenda is vital for Ireland's economic development," she said. "One of our problems has been doing enough research to retain our multinationals. Everyone needs to participate in that effort. If we in Ireland are going to emerge as a mature economy, we need to grow research activity here if we are to avoid becoming an outpost."
The head of the OECD's Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education, Dr Richard Yelland, yesterday addressed the conference. "The changing world of research and research funding is of particular interest to us," he said.
Educational institutes needed to examine strengths and weaknesses and then "establish their identity in light of national policy and opportunities on the marketplace".
