EMBARK Initiative investing in people and ideas.

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EMBARK Initiative investing in people
and ideas.

• Postgraduate Formation the beginning of the
  Research Career?
• IUQB Conference 5th May 2006
• Martin Hynes
• info_at_ircset.ie www.ircset.ie

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Title and outline

• What is meant by PG research degrees? Career
  prospects and stepping stones, reforms necessary.
  
• Original title 4th Level Education and Training
  reason for change
• Should we encourage and support research careers?
• Career paths?
• Speculate as to implications for the traditional
  model of PhD formation

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European setting

• Traversed by differing structures German, Latin,
  Nordic, Anglo-Saxon, in Ireland arguably
  especially US and now-
• Emerging Eastern European/ Academies of Science
  traditions
• Different beasts rooted in different assumptions
• Apprentice, Colleague, Employee or indeed
• Vassal

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Engineers of a certain age--

• PhD alien to culture, decent MEngSc the proper
  aspiration for those more gifted
• Happy days in the real economy of weight
• Remarkable progress in Ireland in 30 years
• Looking back further as to origins of PhD as
  Doctor Philosophiae, DPhil was originally a
  recognition- an honour

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Origins of PhD

• Granted by a University to learned individuals
  who had
• The approval of their peers
• A long and productive career in philosophy
• Achieved a successful middle age after
  substantial achievement
• Later Friederich Wilhelm in Berlin in 1800s
  popularised as a degree to be granted for
  original research in sciences or humanities

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Evolution 2

• Yale University in 1861
• UK in 1921
• From this genesis is it surprising that one still
  thinks of the PhD as one designed for the career
  academic?
• How have we come to think of the generation of
  PhD and research degrees as key for success in
  knowledge economy?

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Reform and HE not new

• Professor Sir Ron Dearing Chairman, National
  Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (UK).
• The TIMES Educational Supplement October 1997

But let us look at the current backdrop, the
environment for change--
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Lisbon Agenda, March 2000

• In particular, it was agreed that to achieve this
  goal, an overall strategy should be applied,
  aimed at
• preparing the transition to a knowledge-based
  economy and society by better policies for the
  information society and RD, as well as by
  stepping up the process of structural reform for
  competitiveness and innovation and by completing
  the internal market
• modernising the European social model, investing
  in people and combating social exclusion
• sustaining the healthy economic outlook and
  favourable growth prospects by applying an
  appropriate macro-economic policy mix. 
•  
• Controversy about researcher numbers,
  particularly PhDs projected

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Postgraduate in Irish context

• Rapid acceleration of research investment from
  1.4 to 2.5 of GNP by 2010.
• Explicit recognition of shortage of Ph.D s
  research professionals
• Many new funding sources now available
• Scientific excellence is the common denominator
• IRCSET Unique niche, supporting researchers in
  early career stages across the SET disciplines

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Building Irelands Knowledge Economy, July 2004

• Analysis for this Action Plan projects that it
  will be possible to achieve more than a doubling
  of performance in the higher education and public
  research sector to reach at least 1.1 billion by
  2010. This will require a serious commitment by
  government to continue the current investment in
  RD. It will also require the research performers
  (higher education and public sector) to continue
  to access international sources of funding,
  especially the European Framework Programmes.
  This funding will help produce the necessary
  number of researchers for the higher education,
  public and enterprise sectors to achieve the
  overall target for 2010.

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BIKE Specifics on researcher

• 3.14. Investing in research by the public and
  private sectors is contingent upon Ireland
  becoming an attractive location for industry RD
  and having an international reputation for
  research excellence. This will attract people in
  Ireland to research careers and attract those
  from abroad.
• From a competitiveness perspective, the presence
  of leading researchers and the supply of the
  highest quality graduates is becoming a
  differentiating factor between countries.
  Businesses are making decisions about the
  location of their global RD activities based on
  the presence of leading researchers and the
  quality of graduate output.
• 3.15. Ireland currently has 10,200 researchers in
  enterprise, the higher education and public
  research sectors, 10 of which are at doctorate
  level, 50 degree and postgraduate level and 40
  technical support.
• 3.16. As indicated in Table 8, it is projected
  that Ireland will require, approximately, an
  additional 8,000 researchers over the period to
  2010 in order to achieve the targets set out
  above for RD

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Ireland

• While NRP and details of SIF much anticipated,
  make no mistake that the context of this planning
  is national competitiveness and employment
• Ireland was seen to have been exceptionally well
  served by the educational system and the special
  focus on graduate numbers throughout the 1990s
  it is seen that the challenge to 2013 and beyond
  lies in the availability of leading researchers
  and a continuing flow of those with advanced
  research degrees as well as in the environment
  for innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Fully 2/3 will find employment outside the
  traditional academic career
• Implications for the incentive schemes?

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RD the new Manufacturing?
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Techno-economic logic

• Demands change- substantial rewards for wider
  range of measurements
• Research indicators for areas perceived as
  being of economic importance
• Cooperation with enterprise rewarded
• Research may leave Dept and move to Research
  Centre as interface www.utc.fr

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In 2004, 71.6 per cent of total exports came from
two sectors, Pharmachem (chemicals and
pharmaceuticals) and ICT/machinery. Pharmachem
exports expanded 4.8 per cent in 2004, and have
witnessed dramatic growth since 1999, expanding
in aggregate by 77.6 per cent. Machinery, which
includes ICT products, continued its decline in
2004 with exports falling by 2.8 per cent. This
is in line with the trend in recent years, with
the value of exports falling by 12.7 per cent
between 1999 and 2004. The foreign-owned
sector accounted for 87.6 per cent of Irish
exports in 2004 with the indigenously owned
sector accounting for the remainder. The
indigenously owned sector is much less export
orientated, exporting less than 40 per cent of
its output. Much of the increased output from the
indigenous sector over the last decade has been
destined for the growing domestic market rather
than export markets. However, in terms of their
direct expenditure in the Irish economy, the
contribution of indigenous exporters is similar
to that of foreign-owned exporters. Foreign firms
spent 17.8 billion on payroll and Irish goods and
services in 2004, while Enterprise Ireland
supported indigenous firms spent 16.2 billion.
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Third Level Qualification Nationality
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Dr. Woodrow Wilson was the only American
President to have earned the PhD award he
studied political science.

• There is an ideal at the heart of everything
  American, and the ideal at heart of the American
  university is intellectual training, the
  awakening of the whole person, the thorough
  introduction of the student to the life of
  America and of the modern world, the completion
  of the task undertaken by the grammar and high
  schools of equipping that student for the full
  duties of citizenship. . . . 1909

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Ethos of IRCSET Council

• Do not diminish education and researcher
  formation to utility
• Support the best candidates based on academic
  achieves and preparation
• Support mobility across national boundaries and
  sectors
• Support programmatic Graduate Education, referred
  to in some quarters as Graduate Schools.

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Dont forget strengths

• What we dont haverigidities, Prof-driven,
  academy and prof. societies in appropriate roles
• Current graduates are mobile, no evidence of
  adaptation problems internationally
• Attractive location for young researchers
• Demographics strong cohort of younger,
  relatively new, PIs, completion age expectation
• Strong environments in PRTLI and SFI PI areas
• Leverage structuring effect of additional funds

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Graduate School?

• Ask not what is a Graduate School
• Rather
• Ask what drives graduate education and how should
  it be structured for the decades ahead.
• gt structured graduate formation involving but
  depth and breadth

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Environmental analysis

• Every nation region needs to attract ( retain)
  the best scholars
• Recognition of global competition focus has
  moved from USA to fear of Asia
• More Postgrads needed, but with the right skills
  and exposed to different attitudes
• Mobility between sectors of the economy needs to
  radically change
• While few expect Scientific civil service, the
  stepping stones to research career need to be
  articulated and plotted

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Environment 2

• Structural reforms in EU
• Framework programmes
• Frontier Research The Euro Challenge
• Marie Curie probability of co-funding
• Lisbon agenda gone slow?
• Differential advantage for Ireland
• Linkage in to American corporate culture
• European Institute of Technology?

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Driving forces

• Quality only one level- global best group by
  discipline
• Growing international mobility-drives local
  culture of attainment, energises community
• Minimum scale must be achieved if bipolar system
  maintained gt?
• Transferable skills and disciplinary specialist
  skills can be centre based
• Need to cluster around top PIs as part of
  supervisory team

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Graduate Education Programmespart of the
solution--

• Focus more on the needs of the researcher in
  formation-secondly the dynamics of the research
  field and finally the institution (response to
  needs)
• More transparency in setting expectations and
  encouraging progress
• More opportunities for experience prior to
  commitment to research area

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On choosing a supervisor--

• Questions to help select a Supervisor
  http//www.phd-survey.org/advice/Advice20-20sect
  ion20three.htm
• Others that go close to addressing the issue are
• http//nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/20
  04/09/09/19
• http//nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/20
  03/08/21/6
• http//www.grad.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Onlin
  e_resources/What_Do_PhDs_Do_/Getting_the_most_from
  _a_PhD/p!eXeccpL

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One view of research career--

• Main stagesnot training, but a preparation
• Scissors diagram, the whole population
• Torsten Wiesels tree and rich variety of
  experience
• Reject pipeline approach-skills needs analysis
  incomplete---
• Cries for selectivity without selection mechanism
  for priorities?

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Do not expect career to be linear
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However, we need to select our metaphor
carefully (with thanks to http//www.michael-bus
selle.com/ViewPic.asp?ID2322)
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Let one thousand flowers bloom--
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Selection-far from natural!

• Scientists know from experience that important
  things are rarely found by deliberately looking
  for them and that science often takes unexpected
  turns. Politicians and the public do not know
  that
• How to cope with scientific élites and excellence
  in a democratic societyJohannes R.
  RandeggerPresident of the Swiss Parliamentary
  Committeefor Science, Education and Culture

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Topic for Postgrad Research

• Have you a strong interest in a particular field
  of research?
• What experiences have you of actually working in
  that discipline examples might include summer
  work, tutorials or any exposure to postgraduates
  already working in it.
• Will the requirements of developing a career in
  that field suit your desired behaviour office
  work, laboratory environment, field work,
  intensive work on computers?
• Look at some current papers related to the PhD
  topic of interest how dynamic is the field, how
  available are the data, are you interested in
  reading the material even if it stretches your
  comprehension at this point?

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Possibility Research focus

• But two types of Postdoc
• Fellowships and rights
• Research contract and outputs
• Both have PhDs with contracts but are different
• Elitist world-only the best survive
• For unto every one that hath shall be given ,
  and he shall have abundance , but from him that
  hath not shall be taken away even that which he
  hath St Matthew

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Research training agenda?

• Marie Curie Fellowships, Charter, Bologna process
  are enabling
• No prescription of one true and indivisible way
  to training excellence
• Welcome conference opening up discussion
  INSERM/MRC/the Weizmann/ EPFL/ Scottish
  Universities models
• Researchers Charter and portal-http//www.research
  careersireland.com
• Opportunity to better imagine the future

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Graduate School Programme

• There is a need to recognise the fundamental
  importance of
• The relationship between the supervisor(s) or
  Principal Investigator and the trainee researcher
• The undertaking of novel scientific and
  technological research of the highest quality
• The traditional forms of doctoral training must
  be augmented and supported by new structures and
  procedures if Ireland is to achieve our objective
  of being an acknowledged leader in training
  researchers in the formative phase of their
  careers1 1 From IRCSET Vision 2015
  Ireland will be an acknowledged leader in
  training researchers in the formative phase of
  their careers to ensure that they develop
  adaptable and enquiring minds in their specialist
  research disciplines and interdisciplinary work
  in order to underpin the knowledge based economy.

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United Kingdom

• Response of the Institutes to Quality dynamic
• 1994 24 GS, discipline based, UKCGE
• 2004 95 GS in 125 HEIs, 46 institution wide
• 2004
• 31 of HEIS have single GS
• 34 have multiple GS at Faculty/School level
• Beginnings of regional coordination
• Bristol, Oxford, Manchester-preferred partner
  University for pharma-chem sector
• Scottish example seen as real opportunity

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Vision of SUPA

• Area currently strong with 5 active FRS
  professors
• SUPA will place Scotland at the forefront of
  research in physics
• Promotion and coordinated pursuit of excellence
  through
• Agreed national strategy
• Inter-institutional management structure
• Coherent approach to staffing strategy
• Highest quality research training
• Enhanced funding opportunities

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Physics Research in Scotland
RGU
Aberdeen
Abertay
Dundee
GCU
St Andrews
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Strathclyde
Heriot Watt
Paisley
Napier
Physics research is located in geographically
close HEIs
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Achieving impact
SUPA aspires to the success of Stanford, MIT, etc.
Critical mass is needed to address the big
scientific problems of this new century
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Graduate School

• The key components
• New advanced courses pooling expertise across
  Scotland
• an attractor for the best staff and students
• High-prestige prize studentships open to all
  nationalities
• block advertising to achieve maximum
  international visibility
• International Summer Schools attracting top
  physicists from around the world
• 40-year track-record and proven international
  reputation of the Scottish Universities Summer
  Schools in Physics (SUSSP)
• Pan-Scotland relay of research seminars and
  colloquia
• dedicated AccessGrid facilities in each physics
  department

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Supporting structures, UK

• Roberts money-skills training, 850 pa
• Framework
• Capacity building UK Grad 1.8m 50 to students
  to attend courses and Hubs
• Sharing of best practice, policy for a
• HEFCE actions full economic costing
• Remember RAE, major allocation, provide
• 26k over 3 years
• 30k through grants and other measures
• So shaping actions as opposed to major policy
  shift

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Finland vis a vis US Closely linked, but
independent

• GS independent academic orgs. not formally
  attached to University - admin umbrella
• Directors, board members, teachers, supvs are not
  employed by GS but are part of University faculty
• GS do not award PhD and not directly involved in
  approving dissertations
• GS funding covers salary of doctoral students and
  some of coordinators through host institutions
• Research not done at GS, but at host and sector
• Courses, seminars, guest lectures open to all
  students, and GS students participate in other
  courses

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Finland

• 124 Graduate schools and 1,459 doctoral students
• Biosciences and Environment 15
• 15 Graduate schools
• 220 doctoral students
• Health Sciences 17
• 17 Graduate Schools
• 249 doctoral students
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• 45 Graduate schools
• 371 doctoral students
• Natural Sciences and Engineering
• 47 Graduate Schools
• 618 doctoral students

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Strategic issues

• Not just supply and demand need systems of
  innovation approach
• Govt, industry and University triple Helix
• Need to re-emphasise the Tree as a model, not the
  pipeline (Torsten Wiesel)
• Globally competitive Postdoc competitions
  consistent with reasonable retention

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Tactical Issues

• Formal commitment to research profession with
  rules of association
• Across disciplinary boundaries and institutional
  boundaries
• Professional society? www.nationalpostdoc.org
  www.eurodoc.com
• Explicit career path with clear indicators and
  quality goals

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Johns Hopkins Medical - Guidelines for
Postdoctoral Training Programs

• An initial appointment period of up to three
  years with reappointment on an annual basis. Six
  years would be the total time allowed for
  appointment as a fellow.
• In some circumstances, the six year total time
  may be exceeded. Guidelines should be in place in
  each department in order to justify extending the
  training period. Exceptions would be recommended
  by the preceptor to the Department Director and
  reviewed by the Associate Dean for Postdoctoral
  Programs
• A time frame for notification of
  non-reappointment should be established. This
  should occur at least six months prior to the end
  of the current appointment period.
• All fellowship programs should have documentation
  regarding educational goals and objectives.
• A postdoctoral training committee should be
  established in each department. The committee
  would meet with all fellows at least once a year
  during the fellowship to provide evaluation,
  counseling and career assessment.
• Fellows should be informed that a postdoctoral
  fellowship appointment is not tantamount to a
  faculty appointment at the conclusion of the
  program.

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Dr. Woodrow Wilson was the only American
President to have earned the PhD award, in his
case for political science.

• There is an ideal at the heart of everything
  American, and the ideal at heart of the American
  university is intellectual training, the
  awakening of the whole person, the thorough
  introduction of the student to the life of
  America and of the modern world, the completion
  of the task undertaken by the grammar and high
  schools of equipping that student for the full
  duties of citizenship. . . .
• We have misconceived and misused the college as
  an instrument of American life when we have
  organized it and used it as a place of special
  preparation for particular tasks and callings. It
  is for liberal training, for general discipline,
  for that preliminary general enlightenment which
  everyone should have who enters modern life
  with any intelligent hope or purpose of
  leadership and achievement. 1909

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In Summary

• Formation is certainly the start of the working
  life--
• The career, as ever, depends on the
  individualHow much research in that career an
  open question
• Some additional breadth during formation
  experience is indicated
• Stage in research system maturity can work for
  us.

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In conclusion, another American association---

• Mendels concept of the laws of genetics was lost
  to the world for a generation because his
  publication did not reach the few who were
  capable of grasping and extending it
• Vannevar Bush, The Atlantic Monthly, July 1945 As
  we may think
• A plea to energise the many, to be inclusive in
  design of Graduate Education Programmes in some
  ways similar to Romers observation.
• Note electrical engineer and administrator,
  foresaw hypertext (Memex) and new learning
  paradigms