Once an unassuming PhD aspirant at Virginia Tech in 2008, Georgette Yackman was warned by her instructor that as an individual, she couldn’t bring about global change. Unruffled, Yackman focused her doctoral work on the expansion of the concept of STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math). She went about weaving arts into it, thus forming STEAM education. Yackman’s approach has now gained ground among educators and strategy makers around the globe.
While STEM research enjoys ample monetary support from Irish taxpayers, backing for arts and humanities centric research isn’t as generous. Despite the disparity, Ireland boasts top-notch research in the arts sector. I’ve personally admired novel initiatives like the hi-tech restorative operations at the National Gallery, virtual reconstruction of the Record Treasury, and profound studies at Chester Beatty.
Spearheading Ireland’s STEAM advocacy in 2008 was the Science Gallery, a venture that I was associated with. Despite getting shelved by Ireland, the programme has made strides in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The Naughton family, owners of Glen Dimplex, were strong backers of the Science Gallery. They afterwards extended their support to Steam Education, a company set up in 2014 in Cork. This company’s aim was to introduce a STEAM-oriented framework in primary schools, featuring a practical curriculum co-taught by specialists from the academic and industrial sectors.
In the face of growing global competition for overseas direct investment, Mary Harney, the former tánaiste, formed the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) in 2000. The institution’s remit was to aggressively pursue basic and applied research, with an aim to prop up the Irish economy. A critical objective was teaming academia with top-notch commercial research, creating cooperative, cross-disciplinary associations between universities and industries.
This strategy was perfectly dovetailed with national enterprise policy, aligning well with SFI’s sister agencies in the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. Collaborative research is often favoured by industries – it lessens the likelihood of failure and magnifies the odds of commercial spin-offs evolving from the results generated during a project’s run. Research isn’t a one-off achievement post significant investment but a constant journey.
The pan-European innovation scoreboard saw us ranking first in terms of business and employment impacts through innovation. In November 2000, The Irish Times made note of the strategic move from Minister Mary Harney and the Department of Enterprise and Employment in initiating SFI, coupling academic and industrial research. This move outsmarted the Department of Education and Science.
The success of SFI led to it becoming the main provider of finance for research in Irish universities, supported by the Irish government. Equally backed by the Oireachtas, in 2022, SFI and the IDA received €229 million and €225 million respectively.
SFI has indeed elevated the scientific standing and profile of Ireland. The country ranked 12th in the world in 2020 for scientific paper citations. It also remarkably placed second in immunology, and third in agricultural sciences and in pharmacology and toxicology.
Currently, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris is proposing to shift SFI from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment back into his department. This will involve combining it with the Irish Research Council. Founded through a ministerial letter in 2012, the Irish Research Council falls under the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, benefiting the progression of young researchers in a range of disciplines, emphasising on those with notable social and cultural contributions.
The evolving entity will be named Taighde Éireann. The careful nurturing of SFI as an international brand over two decades is to be set aside. The future CEO of Taighde will report to both the board of Taighde and the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee. Reflecting the set up of SFI, the 12-member board of Taighde will feature one representative from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
In my perspective, the CEO of Taighde is bound by the dual mandates of both the Taighde board and the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, creating an uncertain structure that has led to administration problems in other state organisations. In stark contrast, private sector CEOs answer only to their single boss – the board, and in turn, the board, along with its chair, is accountable to the company’s shareholders.
Taighde aims at substantially introducing art and humanities research into law for the first time. This does not understate the fact that the liquidation of SFI coupled with Taighde’s shift towards Steam from solely Stem, is a bold stroke by the Government with immense potential impacts on the economy and society of Ireland.
Until now, there has been a conspicuous lack of public responses from business and national policy bodies like the Ibec, commerce chambers, and the Industry Research & Development Group, or even from the Opposition. Indisputable proof of victory or defeat will be contingent on whether Ireland’s research and innovation indices maintain their climb on the global scoreboard.
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