IRSA Research Forum
The IRSA Research Forum event will be held in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin from 1pm – 5pm, Friday 8th April. The core theme of the forum is “Researcher careers; Ireland, Europe and the future”. Problems addressed will be career prospects and career path as well as funding concerns for the future, while all the major funding bodies will be present. A list of the Forum's main objectives can be found in the following document: Forum Objectives
Programme
The programme for the forum is as follows:- 12.30 - Registration & break out session sign-up (max 25 per session)
Tea/Coffee & Biscuits - 13.00 - Welcome address - Gordon Dalton (President of IRSA)
- 13.10 - Speakers on Policy x 4 (15 mins each incl. questions/discussion):
- Mr Stefaan Hermans - Head of Unit within the Directorate "European Research Area" in Directorate General for Research
- Fiona Kernan - European Research Council (ERC)
- Patrick Cunningham - Chief Scientific Advisor of Ireland and head of ESOF 2012
- Iain Cameron - British Research Council and Vitae
- 14.10 - Coffee break (Tea/Coffee & Biscuits)
- 14.30 - RSA Speakers x 3 (10 mins each incl questions/discussion)
- Gordon Dalton - President of IRSA
- Chris Thompson - UK Research staff Association
- David Finger - Board of Directors of the National Postdoctoral Association.
- 15.00 - Panel Discussion (chaired by Gordon Dalton). The panel session will consist of 10 questions addressing buring issues for Irish researchers:
- 6 questions to be prepared and forwarded to panelists in advance.
- Chair to ask question followed by 10 minutes discussion between panelists and floor, then move on to next question.
- 4-5 additional questions to be prepared by IRSA
- Panel Members:
- Conor O'Carroll - IUA
- Prof. Orla Feely - UCD and IRCSET Council
- Stephen Simpson - Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
- Brendan Dollard - Enterprise Ireland
- Padraic O'Murchu - Intel
- Kevin McCarthy – Assistant Secretary of the Dept of Education and Skills
- Karyn Hynes – Forfas /IBEC
- Dolores Cahill - Chairperson of the Advisory Science Council Task Force on Researcher Careers
- Tennie Videler - VITAE
- Aidan Hodson – Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation
- Nicholas Canny – utgoing president of the Royal Irish Academy and an Irish member of the European Research Council
- 16.00 - Move to Break out sessions (Tea/Coffee available)
- 16.10 - Break out sessions (5 min analysis of issues, 30 min discussion, 10 min summary and outcomes)
- 1. Academic Research Career Paths?
Chair: John Walsh - TRSA
Panelists / Invited Guests - Fiona Kernan (ERC),
Dolores Cahill (UCD-Research Careers Framework & ASC), Stephen
Simpson (SFI), Prof. Orla Feely (UCD and IRCSET Council)
Discussion - 2. Transferring to Industry
Chair: Sara Morrissey – DuCRA
Panelists / Invited Guests – Brendan Dollard (EI), Don Thornhill (Forfas), Kevin McCarthy (Assistant Director General Office), Martin Shanahan (Forfas/IBEC), Padraic O’Mhurchu (Intel)
Discussion - 3. Barriers to Researcher mobility
Chair: Fionnuala Hickey – UCD RSA
Panelists / Invited Guests – Aidan Hodson (DETI), Stefaan Hermans (DG for Research Office)
Discussion - 4. Engaging with stakeholders
Chair: Tennie Videler – VITAE UK
Panelists / Invited Guests – Chris Thompson (UK-RSA), David Finger (American Research Staff Association), Conor O’Carroll (IUA), Patrick Cunningham (Chief Scientific Advisor), Iain Cameron (British Research Council)
Discussion – Issues arising in engaging with: other researchers, University hierarchies, Funding agencies, Government, Advisory committees etc.
Effective communication via LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter etc. - 16.55 – Summary of outcomes from Break out sessions – Gordon Dalton
- 17.00 – Closing Speech – Ruairi Quinn, Minister for Education and Skills
- 17.10 – Wine reception
Guests
In addition to the speakers and panelists there will be a number of other guest in attendance, including:- Martin Hynes – IRCSET and HEA