PhD Projects with Industry Involvement Chris Dainty National University of Ireland, Galway

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PhD Projects withIndustry InvolvementChris
DaintyNational University of Ireland, Galway

• Brussels, 4 June 2008

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Summary of Presentation

• Introduction to the Applied Optics Group
• Industry-linked PhD schemes available to
  researchers in Ireland
• Discussion

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Applied Optics Group

• 25 people 3 permanent faculty, 7 post-docs,
  12 PhD students, 1 admin visitors 1
  industry coordinator (Una Murphy)
• Research theme IMAGING. Includes vision
  science, adaptive optics, polarisation,
  scattering, lithography
• Funded mainly by Science Foundation Ireland
• Close links to Irish Development Agency and many
  companies.
• Have graduated 47 successful PhD students to date.

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Industry-linked PhDs in Ireland

• Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering
  and Technology (IRCSET), Enterprise
  Fellowships focus on student training.
• Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnerships
  focus on innovation for industry.
• Contracts from Science Foundation Ireland and
  other agencies.
• EU Programmes, particularly Marie Curie, e.g.
  Initial Training Networks (FP7).

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IRCSET Enterprise Fellowships

• Initially three years funding, provided to
  University for named student and company. Six
  month extension almost automatic, moving to four
  year funding.
• Marginal costs funded IRCSET provides 25K p.a.,
  of which 8K comes from the company.
• University-industry collaboration agreement must
  be in place before funding is provided.
• Focus on training for research best interests of
  student.
• No mandatory industry stage complicated issue
  ..

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IP Issues (personal view)

• Full project cost? Typically 50K-100K per
  annum.. Depends on many factors.
• Company pays only 8K per annum
• If there is any argument about IP, dont bother
  to work with that company / university !
• In my experience, smaller companies can have
  IP-related problems perhaps other mechanisms
  might for collaboration with them?
• (Personally, never had any IP problems in 30
  years.)

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IRCSET Enterprise in Applied Optics

• With HP Manufacturing, Leixlip.
• Partially coherent imaging in lithography.
• Arlene Smith (Ireland)
• Peer reviewed paper in preparation
• With Alcon Ireland
• Use of adaptive optics to simulate novel
  intra-ocular lenses
• Elie deLestrange (France)
• Already helped Alcon on related manufacturing
  issues
• Training plans

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Marie Curie Initial Training Networks

• Call out now, closing date early September
• Typically 2-7 partners, strong preference for
  meaningful industry involvement. Industry stages
  encouraged?
• Marie Curie the most successful EU programme for
  encouraging mobility of EU young researchers?
  (Made successful by dedicated supervisors.)
• Student focussed, training programme, science not
  a priority.
• Administration/bureaucracy much much worse than
  merely dreadful. Score about minus 100 on a
  scale of 1 to 10 . Result? Too many third-rate
  organisations, best researchers dont want to get
  involved.

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Summary

• Direct industry involvement is a PhD research
  project can be very beneficial, both to student
  and to quality of the research.
• IP should never be a barrier (find another
  partner a persons word is their bond)
• Very good opportunities in Ireland for
  industry-university PhD training.
• EU Marie Curie Networks can be excellent.
• Just one of many industry university
  interactions that should be occurring (many
  options e.g. visits from/to companies, offering
  short courses, industrial affiliate programmes,
  . ).