University Foresight Exercise to Find Future
- 7 October 2005

DCU’s radical review of research will identify major opportunities for University, Irish economy.

Ireland’s leading research-led university DCU is to conduct a revolutionary and hard-hitting research assessment programme, using international experts to benchmark existing programmes and identify key fields to be exploited in the future.

The programme will objectively assess the quality and excellence of DCU’s researchers, and the results will be published by the university.

DCU’s President, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, said: “With this initiative DCU will once again introduce a key innovation and change the way universities evaluate themselves and identify their strategic priorities. It will present an impartial assessment of its own research performance, but also provide an analysis of opportunities and national needs which it can help to meet.”

The assessment will be informed by national and international priorities, while the expert investigation team will include leading international figures in science, technology, economics, sociology and culture.

Eugene Kennedy, Vice President for Research in DCU said: “This critical programme will serve two purposes. It will measure how we are doing internationally across the university’s disciplines in our research, benchmarking us against the best, and it will also include a foresight review to clearly identify key emerging areas where we can target existing research strengths, as well as addressing any weaknesses the expert team exposes.”

“New research opportunities that will contribute to Ireland’s social and economic strength will be identified so that they can be resourced properly. This radical review will feed directly into DCU’s recruitment strategy for the future,” he added.

“This is a pioneering approach in third level education, thinking ahead and putting a dynamic process of change and creativity at the heart of DCU’s culture, so that we can play our part in ensuring Ireland’s leadership in the global knowledge economy.”

The international team, combined with DCU senior figures, is expected to be rigorous in its approach using a range of internationally recognised criteria to assess research performance for the four faculties, Science and Health, Business, Engineering and Computing and Humanities and Social Science.

The assessment programme, part of DCU’s Strategic Plan 2006-8, will begin early next year and will include the views of staff, students and postgraduates.

Recent research successes by DCU, including the new Biomedical Diagnostics Insitute that received €22.5m from Science Foundation Ireland and industry partners, have set a precedent. Now DCU intends to emulate these by early identification of key areas of research to ensure a pipeline of research excellence in the future.

ENDS