Institutional Research Report
Executive Summary
Summary
This document profiles UCD’s research performance from 2006 to 2011 across five areas of interest:
1.Reputation
2.People
3.Research Economy
4.Innovation
5.Key Performance Indicators and Metrics
Reputation
International Competitiveness
UCD had shown considerable progress in the Times Higher Education World University rankings, moving from 221st in the world in 2005 to 89th in 2009. However, UCD’s ranking has dropped in the last two years and is now 159th (2011). UCD has produced the highest volume of papers in journals referenced by the Web of Science in Ireland since 2008. The impact of these publications is second highest in the state, and is 35% above the world average. In volume terms, UCD continues to produce approximately 4,000 publications1 per year, of which approximately 50% are articles in peer-reviewed journals. UCD’s output of peer-reviewed journal articles is increasing by 11% per year.
Highest
volume of papers in Web of Science in Ireland since 2008
People
Impact of UCD publications x 35% above the world average
‘Further develop a community of top class scholars with a vibrant research culture’ The number of academic staff has decreased by 2.5%, while the number of full-time research students has increased by 28% from 2006 to 2011. The combined numbers of research assistants and post-doctoral staff have increased by 10% from 2006 to 2011. The number of research active staff has declined by 3% in the last year. The growth in PhD output remains in line with the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation2 (SSTI) projections.
1Publications include books, book chapters, books edited, peer-reviewed journals, other journals, conference publications and published reports recorded in the RMS Profiles database.
2DETE (2006) Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-2013.
Research Economy
The total value of new awards in 2010/’11 had more than doubled compared with 2009/’10 (€103m vs. €49m), with €24m of the 2010/’11 total figure due to PRTLI 5. 2009/’10 saw a 58% decrease in new awards compared to 2008/09, largely due to a 69% reduction in the value of awards from Irish State funding agencies. Funding from the European Union more than doubled from 2009/’10 to 2010/’11, and now stands at €23m. The overall ratio of Irish State to non-Irish State funding agencies, when looking at the value of new awards, is now 1.79 to 1, respectively. UCD won 20% of the total funding provided by SFI in 2011. Since its inception in 2005, the Research Capacity Fund had committed more than €74m to building UCD’s research infrastructure up to October 2011.
Key Performance Indicators and Metrics
The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from the UCD strategic plan are shown below:
Innovation
In the five years from 2006 to 2010, UCD filed 173 patents; 16 patents were granted, 34 licences were issued by UCD, and 14 companies were spun out by UCD. The income from licensing royalties has increased from €485k in 2006 to €693k in 2010.