DUBLIN CITY University has appointed an internationally renowned senior research figure as its new president.
Prof Brian MacCraith, who is 52, will succeed Ferdinand von Prondzynski next July.
Currently professor of physics at DCU, the president-designate is widely known for his work in sensor research. He has helped to forge closer links and collaboration between higher education and the multinationals.
He is also director of the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (BDI), one of the DCU-led Science Foundation Ireland Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET).
His appointment means a majority of the seven university presidents have a background in scientific research. Increasingly, the universities are being evaluated on the basis of their success in securing lucrative research funding. Close to €1 billion has been invested by the Government in higher education research programmes over the past decade.
The Government is likely to be pleased with the appointment; it wants the university sector to build closer links with industry and to deliver new jobs. Prof MacCraith fits the profile that it wants at leadership levels in higher education: a renowned academic with close connections to industry.
The Government's Building Ireland's Smart Economydocument envisages the university sector playing a central role in driving economic revival.
Speaking to The Irish Timesyesterday, Prof MacCraith – who has been with DCU for two decades – paid tribute to Prof von Prondzynski's contribution to the university. He said he was hoping to build on DCU's strong reputation as a college which was "enterprise friendly" and one which prepared graduates well for the workplace. "As a university, our primary challenge is to equip our students with a set of personal and professional skills to enable them to navigate the particular challenges of the coming decades."
He also promised to spend a great deal of time listening to DCU staff over the coming year.
The chancellor of DCU, former EU commissioner David Byrne, said Prof MacCraith was an outstanding candidate in a very strong national and international field.
On the current higher education environment, Prof MacCraith said: “We need to ensure that the progress achieved by Irish universities, including DCU, in international rankings is maintained, and that this is made possible by a sensible funding environment and by a framework that encourages innovation and initiative.”
