Research and Innovation Update

Research and Innovation (R&I) Update

Summer 2021 has been very busy for the CUA Research and Innovation (R&I) team.

In July the international panel reviewing our technological university (TU) application held three separate sessions involving postgraduate research students, postgraduate research supervisors, and research and innovation managers.

The panel identified research performance as the defining transformative feature of TUs.

The summer also saw substantial progress in the delivery of key R&I initiatives for the CUA such as:

Postgraduate Researcher Training Programmes (PRTPs)

Eight applications to establish PRTPs were received in May. These included proposals in: • Creating resilient societies through the sustainable management of natural resources; • Digital Disruption &

Transformation for the

Data Economy; • Digital Innovation in

Enterprise, Marketing and

Society; • Digital Manufacturing and Design; • Modelling and

Computational Technologies for Health and Society (MOCHAS); • Operations and Supply

Chain Management; • Regional Economic

Development: Enterprise,

Sustainability and Policy; and, • Tourism, Archaeology &

Heritage for Sustainability. The proposals demonstrated great appetite for collaboration. A total of 212 collaborating partners were identified within Higher Educational Institutions (58), Private enterprise (83), Public enterprise (36), Agencies (28), and Non-Government Organisations (7). The PRTP call identified 120 PhD proposals, involving 157 CUA staff as supervisors, and 45 external project supervisors.

Evaluation of the PRTP proposals was conducted in June by external evaluators, independent of the CUA research and innovation executive. The evaluation panel were really impressed by the standard of the proposals. Only 13% separated the highest and lowest ranked proposals. The panel concluded that all proposals could be funded if sufficient resources were available. The highest-ranking programme was the Modelling and Computational Technologies for Health and Society (MOCHAS) programme which will now be funded and established.

MOCHAS aims to: • Produce highly skilled graduates in modelling and computational technologies who can drive future development of our region; • Expand the research skills, capacity, and networks of academic staff across the CUA; • Coordinate, engage and grow existing research strengths in mathematical modelling and computation and applications across the CUA to lead to development of a new

CUA research group; • Expand engagement of CUA researchers with regional, national and international collaborators and stakeholders; and, • Support other research across the CUA with expertise in modelling and computational technologies. MOCHAS will soon recruit 15 new PhD students, and enable collaboration between 24 CUA supervisors and over 30 external partners. Congratulations to the entire MOCHAS programme team and their proposal leaders: Dr Liam Morris (Lecturer in Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at GMIT), Dr Eoghan Furey (Lecturer in Computing at LYIT’s Faculty of Engineering & Technology), and Dr Marion McAfee (Senior Lecturer in Mechatronic Engineering in IT Sligo’s Faculty of Engineering and Design).

CUA Research Information Management System (RIMS)

Procurement of a RIMS will enable the CUA to consolidate our institutional information on a single platform. This will greatly enhance our collective capacity to report on performance, and support achievement in the new TU. The RIMS will collate and maintain the CUA’s research profile and enable staff and departments to publish dynamic online profiles of their roles, and their involvement in education, research, and engagement. Making our capabilities discoverable will enable the new TU to build stronger collaborations internally, and with other HEIs, industry and enterprises. The RIMS will be crucial to CUA promotion, and to the attraction of postgraduate research students and research staff.