understanding how research at the ou works dr dorothy faulkner associate director, academic...
TRANSCRIPT
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Understanding how research at the OU works
Dr Dorothy Faulkner Associate Director, Academic Professional Development
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Structure of talk
• The external research funding environment
• Research leadership and organisation
• Support for doctoral research students
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Funding for university research
• Higher Education Funding Council
• The UK Research Councils
• The European Commission
• Charitable Organisations
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Research Assessment - RAE 2008
At the OU:• 87% of all research - ‘internationally recognised’ or better • 80%of research in Art and Design - ‘internationally
excellent’ or better• 70%of research in Earth and Environmental Science and
Computer Science - ‘internationally excellent’ or better• 100% of research in Computer Science & Art History -
‘internationally excellent’ or better• Art & Design was ranked third in the UK and
Development Studies ranked fourth
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OU Quality Research Funding
Strategic investment in central academic units, studentships, central research support services
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The Research Councils
• Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences – BBSRC• Engineering and Physical Research Council - EPSRC• Economic and Social Research Council – ESRC• Medical Research Council – MRC• Natural Environment Research Council – NERC• Science & Technologies Facilities Council - STFC
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Research Leadership at the OU
• Martin Bean VC• Tim Blackman PVC
Research, Scholarship & Quality
• Astrid Wissenburg, Director RSQ
• Associate Deans and Directors (Research)
• Directors Research Degrees and EdD
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Open University Research Centres
• Citizenship, Identities and Governance CCIG
• Research in Education and Educational Technology CREET
• Research in Computing CRC
• OpenSpace Research Centre
• Physical and Environmental Sciences CEPSAR
• Biomedical Research Network BRN
• Innovation, Knowledge and Development IKD
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OU Faculties and Institutes• Science• Social Sciences• Health & Social Care• Education & Language
Studies• Institute of Educational
Technology• Business & Law• Arts• Mathematics, Computing
& Technology• Knowledge Media Institute
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Committee Structure
Research Committee
Research Degrees Human Research Ethics
Research Examination Results
Approval
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Central research support at the OU
The Research, Scholarship and Quality Unit looks after:
The Research Degrees Office manages:
• The Virtual Research Environment
• The research student registry and advice and guidance services to students
• Research degree policy and practice, regulations and QAA requirements
• Collaborations with The Affiliated Research Centres
• Institutional Quality Review• Funding for Research• Intellectual property & legal
agreements• Research Communications• Research data management• Research Degrees• Research performance &
REF• Research ethics
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Postgraduate policies, quality assurance and career development
• Research Councils UK – RCUK
• UK Council for Graduate Education
• Quality Assurance Agency
• Vitae
The Vitae Researcher Development Framework
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Doctoral researchers – vital statistics
• 1049 Total
• 757 OU
• 292 ARCs
• 361 FT OU
• 436 PT OU
Doctoral researchers
Arts
Business & Law
Soc Sci
Education
Life/Biomolecular
Computing/Sys-tems
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Research Council Doctoral Training Partnerships at The Open University
• Consortia for Humanities and the Arts South East – CHASE (AHRC)
• Design Star (AHRC)• Central England NERC
Training Alliance CENTA• South East Physics
Network – SEPnet (HEFCE)
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Affiliated Research Centres
British Antarctic Survey
Institutio Clinico Humanitas. Milan
MRC Unit, The Gambia
Mahidol, Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit
Royal Botanic Gardens,KewStowers Institute for Medical Research, MissouriTransport Research Laboratory. UK
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Support for you • Research Degrees office• Dedicated supervisory
teams• Virtual Research
Environment• World-class library• Subject specific and
generic skills training• Careers advice• Postgraduate student
society