Understanding how research at the OU works
Dr Dorothy Faulkner
Associate Director,
Academic Professional Development
1

Structure of talk
• The external research funding environment
• Research leadership and organisation
• Support for doctoral research students
2

• Higher Education Funding Council
• The UK Research Councils
• The European Commission
• Charitable Organisations
3

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
4

OU Quality Research Funding
Strategic investment in central academic units, studentships, central research support services
5

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
6

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
• OpenSpace Research
Centre
Research in Education and Educational
Technology CREET
• Research in Computing
CRC
•
• 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
9

Research
Committee
Research Degrees
Human Research
Ethics
Research
Examination Results
Approval
10

Central research support at the OU
The Research, Scholarship and Quality Unit looks after:
• Institutional Quality Review
• Funding for Research
• Intellectual property & legal agreements
• Research Communications
• Research data management
• Research Degrees
• Research performance &
REF
• Research ethics
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
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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 Framewor k
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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/Syste ms
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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,
Kew
Stowers Institute for Medical
Research, Missouri
Transport 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
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The Virtual Research Environment
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Opportunities for doctoral researchers
The Postgraduate Internship Programme
The Brilliant Club
The Santander Entrepreneurship Awards
The Santander Research and Scholarship
Awards and Mobility Awards .
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