JISC

Debate on the future of research attracted vice chancellors, heads of research and UK funders to JISC’s conference last week (Tues 19 October)  – and you can still interact and follow the conference online.

The conference discussed how research intensive universities can maintain and expand their work and what other institutions need to do to build their research, based on the key areas of institutional reputation, efficiency and effectives, and collaboration in a competitive environment.

The keynote speakers, who you can watch online, were:

• Professor Rick Trainor (Vice Chancellor) King’s College London
• Professor Julia Goodfellow (Vice Chancellor) University of Kent
• Professor Martin Hall (Vice Chancellor) University of Salford
• Professor Paul Curran (Vice Chancellor) London City University
• Professor Paul Webley (Director and Principal) SOAS

Track the whole conference via the dedicated twitter feed, #jiscres10.

Dr Malcolm Read, JISC’s executive secretary, said: “I’m really pleased – though not surprised – that the conference is generating so much interest from senior managers in universities.  Cuts in research funding are leading people to look carefully at where they can make cost savings.  Working openly, whether in the arts and humanities or the sciences, helps universities to become considerably more efficient, not just because there is less duplication but also because openness allows for a real problem-solving approach and fast distribution of ideas and results. 

“JISC’s role in advising and assisting universities and colleges on how to use technology to achieve cost savings is therefore going to be crucial at this time,” he concluded.

According to evidence submitted to the Browne review, research contributes £30bn annually to the UK, equivalent to 2% of gross domestic product.