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E-mailA joint venture between Trinity College (TCD) and University College Dublin (UCD) is likely to have a price tag of more than €1bn over a period of 10 years.
The alliance between the two universities, which was launched last March, was accompanied by claims that it could lead to the establishment of 300 new "high-value" companies over 10 years, creating up to 30,000 jobs by 2018.
According to a draft version of UCD's strategic plan to 2014, obtained by the Sunday Tribune, the cost of realising the UCD/TCD "innovation alliance" project is set at €650m over 10 years. But it could also involve significant extra investment from the private sector during that time.
"It is expected that significant industry and private funding will also be secured bringing the overall investment to in excess of €1bn by 2018," the document states.
"A key objective will be to ensure that the investment in science, technology and innovation is used efficiently and with maximum impact on enterprise development and job creation."
However, while the document notes that the €650m figure will be drawn from a "combination of sources, including committed government sources", it does not state to what extent the additional private-sector funding will be dependent on any upturn in the economy.
The alliance between the two universities has two major components –a joint venture in enterprise development and the establishment of a UCD/UCD fourth-level "innovation academy". The document also states that UCD has "commenced the process of identifying and developing key performance indicators for all its spheres of activity".
"Among the selected research indicators which will be applied when charting the progress of the plan's objectives are publications per staff in international peer-reviewed journals, citations per publication, and the percentage of 'research active staff'," it states.
In a covering letter accompanying the draft plan, UCD president Dr Hugh Brady notes that it was written "at a time of global economic turmoil and uncertainty".
"Our aim is nothing less than the formation of the minds of a new, globally focused generation of graduates... a defining characteristic is the commitment to establish innovation as a third, constitutive pillar of UCD's activity and identity," he adds.
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In a comment on an article on the UCD-Trinity Innovation Alliance on March 15 I suggested that the claims that it could lead to the creation of 30,000 jobs in 10 years seemed delusional. I stated that while the objectives are laudable the hype and hoopla surrounding it may deflect us from analysing rigorously the direction in which science and research policy is going. My fears were well grounded and I have been somewhat dismayed at some of the comments of politicians about the smart economy and their belief that developments like the “innovation alliance” will play a key role in job creation in the future.
Reference is made in the current article to peer-reviewed publications and citations per publication on the one hand and job creation on the other. There is very little association between the two and we likely to “waste” money on some fanciful research projects. More seriously, the universities could contribute far more to economic development and job creation if the funding agencies insisted on the correct research priorities and the appropriate linkages between the universities and industry.
I believe a fundamental flaw in the “innovation alliance” approach is that innovation will not be driven by academia and that innovative new businesses will not spring up in Donnybrook or along Leeson Street just because there is research going on in UCD and Trinity. I understanding that Silicon Valley became established because, over 50 years ago, Stanford University created an Industrial Park and well-established companies like Hewlett Packard, Eastman Kodak, General Electric and Lockheed set up units there. The collaboration between these companies and the academics and researchers at Stanford University provided the conditions which then led to the explosion in innovation and creativity that subsequently occurred. Similarly, the collaboration between Intel and NUI Maynooth has some chance of leading to real innovation and the start up of spin-off companies.
Peer-reviewed publications, impact factors and citations will move you up the world rankings for universities - BUT SO WHAT. In the THES world rankings for 2008 Trinity College is at 49 and UCD at 108. Britain has 8 universities in the top 50 plus another 9 in the second 50. In contrast, Germany has no university in the top 50 and has only 3 in the next 50. One Finnish university scrapes into the top 100, while 2 Swedish universities are ranked at 63 and 88. CLEARLY IT IS RIDICULUOUS TO ATTACH MUCH SIGNIFICANCE TO UNIVERSITY RANKINGS AND THE USUAL ACADEMIC CRITERIA AS FAR AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS CONCERNED. The over-reliance on academic criteria for research priorities has to stop immediately. SFI, Enterprise Ireland, Forfas etc must review their approach.