SEEing into the future

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SEEing into the future?

• Alan Murray

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Aim of this session

• Initial thoughts of a rookie HoS
• Aim for transparency
• If I head in a seemingly bizarre direction
• You need to know why
• To tell me Im wrong?
• Or to follow my apparently-bizarre lead?
• Everyone needs to understand the basic reasons
  for school decisions.
• Buy in is essential
• Please attend subsequent briefings

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Agenda

• Issues
• Problems (primarily our !?_at_ budget!)
• Areas for change

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Issues

• Development of research
• Development of teaching
• School Management
• Line management
• Management of activities and issues
• HR issues
• Me as HoS modus operandum?
• External links/collaboration
• The Schools image and ethos

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Development of research

• Strengthen role of DoResearch
• Development plan for RIs
• Strengthen role of HoRI
• Development plan for all academics
• Part of the appraisal process
• Particular issues
• Interdisciplinarity
• Funding size of grants
• Urgency we need new activity NOW.

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Interdisciplinarity is growing
Electronics
Electrical
Chemical
Mechanical
Materials
Environmental
Fire
Civil/Structural
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Research funding, 2008
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Research funding, 2008
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Research a personal view

• Choose important topics/projects
• Seek the funding that they need
• To do the work properly
• Grants do not fail because of an extra 100k
• NOW (dont procrastinate)
• Publish it in the right places
• To disseminate results to the right people
• THEN
• interdisciplinarity/collaboration, RAE/REF
  metrics, how much money?

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Research a personal view

• If a project is refused
• Was it a bad idea?
• Bin it.
• Good idea, proposal criticised?
• Improve, polish and get back in
• As often as is necessary
• One of the most important attributes of a
  successful research leader is
• PERSISTENCE

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Research focus and drive
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Development of teaching

• MSc courses
• Fulfil societal/educational needs
• As income-generation
• PhD-student generation
• More sustainable MScs
• More flexible MSc offering (cf Informatics)
• Undergraduate needs
• More school-shared teaching
• e.g. maths, computing/modelling
• New courses
• Sustainability/energy/environment?

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Development of teaching

• Undergraduate needs
• Revision of syllabus
• Start with Electrical/electronics
• Meet professional requirements
• New degree streams (eg bioengineering?)
• New teaching methods
• Clickers
• Teaching studios
• New forms of delivery
• e.g. MEng/MSc research-reading?
• Improved feedback to students
• Use of Turnitin - plagiarism

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5 years as HoS,then 5 years of normality!

• I will remain research-active
• Large, diverse research group
• Growing, not shrinking
• e.g. neurons-on-silicon
• Patent in progress
• EPSRC (c1.5M) early 2009, Platform renewal
• I will remain teaching-active
• I love teaching (!)
• Students need teaching
• We must ALL contribute

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5 years as HoS,then 5 years of normality!

• I will also continue to play my guitar
• So
• New management structure
• Delegation (DoT, DoR, HoRIs)
• Cancelled outside (work) commitments
• For now
• Full use of the skills of our admin. team
• I am an amateur administrator
• they are professionals.

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Structures
Reporting responsibility
Working relationship
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HoS connection with colleagues

• HoS no longer appraises academics
• Disconnected from research issues?
• Disconnected from teaching issues?
• Management by drinking coffee
• I will visit individuals informally
• Start with newer academics/support staff

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External Links

• Edinburgh Research Partnership (ERP)
• Benefits (some stellar appointments)
• Long-term costs, ?? long-term funding
• ERP Phase2 pan-Scotland?
• Inst. for System-Level Integration (ISLI)
• Long-term funding?
• MSc/Eng Doc/CPD courses?
• Bio-engineering
• Institute? Centre?
• Supergen and other large projects?

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SEE Income/Expenditure
This is the reason for the 2008 budget position
Other income?
SEE/UoE
2005-2006
2008
MScs L
NewMScs
Student fees
3.4M
3.1M
RAs, equipment
Overheads
Research grants
6.5M
5.8M
Raise SEEsgame?
Salaryon grants
New Staff?
0.7M
5.5M(L)
New Staff J
Pay AwardsJ
Shrink L
Salaries
SFC Teaching money
4.3M
4.9M
RAE?
SFC Research money
3.2M
Other spend
1.0M
Income 3.40.74.33.2 ? 6.3M (via a set of
complex sums!) Expenditure 4.91.0 5.9M 5.9M
is less than 6.3M(J)
Income 3.10.74.33.2 ? 6.0M (via a set of
complex sums!) Expenditure 5.51.0 6.5M 6.5M
is more than 6.0M(L)
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Budget hits, 2008

• MSc numbers (substantially) down
• 2008-9 improvements J
• New appointments some very senior
• Research not yet fully-established
• One-off (large) lab setup costs
• Some still to come in 2008-9

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Budget we need

• New MScs
• More ambitious research projects
• PI salaries on research grants
• i.e. 10 of Alan Murray etc.
• Solid undergraduate numbers
• Increased overseas student numbers
• Retention of existing students

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Budget we need

• New activity from new (old) colleagues
• Overheads
• PI salary costs
• QR funding that accompanies new activity
• Prof Snape, app. 2006
• 587k EPSRC, 323k other 910k J
• Prof Hagrid, app. 2007
• 1.6M EPSRC, 239 other 1.8M J
• Prof Dumbledore, app. some time ago
• 2M EPSRC, as PI since 2006 J

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Priorities

• Balancing the budget L

• Quality/volume/scope of research, teaching KT J

• People J

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Some HoS dreams

• New degrees and courses
• More students, more fun , more money
• Therefore more of us as well
• Politicians/economists/ who understand stuff
• New disruptive (!) research
• Bioelectronics/carbon capture what next?
• Grow support groups
• Deeper involvement with school business
• Research, teaching raise quality/quantity of
  both
• e.g. expand technical staff, growing research
  labs
• Proposals must include tech. support

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Things I like1Stuff done on time and well

• Exam questions correct and prompt
• Also marking
• Proposals well-written and timely
• Support letters at zero notice ? high-quality
• Delegated duties owned and done well
• I will not micro-manage
• Absence of internecine strife(!)
• Strife(TIMEwasted ENERGYwasted STRESS)

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Things I like2 Clear communication

• Many things ? HoRI/HoD first
• Admin/finance ? Bridgeen/Kathy/Caroline
• HoS/DoT/DoR ? strategy/policy
• But - a HoS issue will get (HoS)x100
• Email is good for information exchange
• very bad for debate/argument
• Positive feedback of negativity L
• No emotional/body language cues
• ccd emails potentially VERY dangerous
• think before hitting send

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Things I like3 Full engagement with School/RI

• We will try to minimise time-wasting
• PLEASE attend meetings
• Respond to requests
• Work with the system, dont fight itEWT
• There are routes towards changes
• e.g. Absence request system
• Major legal/insurance problems if not used
• EWT enormous waste of time

And finally whats in a name?
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School ofEngineering Electronics

• Nice acronym (SEE)
• Unique to UoE?

• Adopted for not-very-good reasons
• Unbalanced
• Why single out Electronics?
• What about Electrical
• currentsgt100mA?
• Clumsy and verbose

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School ofEngineering?

• Neat and tidy
• Acronym OK (SE)
• Might be mistaken for Scottish Enterprise!
• cf Cambridge

• Also cf some lesser places!
• cf old Division of Engineering
• Not very distinctive

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School ofEngineering Science(s)?

• Concise
• cf Oxford and Southampton
• Acronym OK (SES)
• Symmetry
• Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences
• Distinctive and balanced
• EngineeringApplications
• SciencesFundamentals
• Emphasises our USP
• Applications the science that underpins them
• () Unique Selling Point