Dr Michael Mortell - Fac of Science Degrees - 23rd July 1997

Speech by Dr Michael P. Mortell,
President, The National University of Ireland, Cork
at the Conferring of Degrees in the Faculty of Science Wednesday, 23 July at 12.30 p.m.
 
Research in the Sciences

I think it is appropriate that on an occasion when I confer 14 Masters, 21 Doctorates and a DSc that I saw a word about university research, particularly in the sciences.

First of all, research is a defining characteristic of a university. The essential roles of a university are teaching and research - everything flows from these two. The university is a repository of learning, knowledge and information. Our teaching function then derives from passing on to each generation of students the knowledge, experience and insights within the university.

This, at its best, is not a passive process. By this I mean that it is not simply a matter of the staff of the university absorbing a mass of knowledge and passing it on. There may, indeed, be occasions when this is so, but it is not the best way.

The teacher has to be engaged with his subject. What does this mean? The easiest thing a lecturer can do is sit down, absorb a text and pass on the material to students. The most difficult thing a researcher can do is sit down in front of a blank page, address a problem whose solution is unknown, and begin to think a way through it.

Even this is not the beginning. The trick is to know the subject well enough, recognise where the problems lie and then ask the right question, or formulate the question in the right way. The problem to be addressed can come from an outside source - for example, the pharmaceutical industry might want to construct a compound with certain properties - or the problem can come from the internal dynamics of the subject. An example would be Einstein's discovery of the Theory of Relativity. There was no commercial pressure for this theory. The subject of physics itself had raised a series of questions that required answers.

It takes focused and concentrated effort to master a subject area, then to understand where problems lie and, finally, to formulate a question or series of questions and work through to a solution.

Because of the different elements involved there are not a very large number of good researchers around. The researcher I have spoken of has engaged with the subject, wrestled with it, pushed it and poked it, has found new insights and developed an intuition or feel for the subject. Such a person is the ideal teacher, provided the communication skills are good.

This researcher is at the forefront of the field, knows the advances being made elsewhere in the world through the journals and professional contacts. He/she is like a scout on the horizon, monitoring all that is going on and sending back the information. The latest ideas are integrated into courses. Graduate students are benefiting directly in their training.

From the point of view of the economy of a country what is being silently put in place is a basis of knowledge and expertise among students which is preparing them for the industries of 5, 10 or 20 years hence. You could study computer science In UCC years before there was any computer or software industries in this country. You can be quite sure that there are topics being taught in UCC today which will benefit industries not yet created in this country, and maybe not even yet conceived. And so the long term good of a country, especially now in the information age, is inherently tied up with the support for research. The information passed on to the student is the feedstock for future industry.

We are now experiencing growth rates of 7% in the Irish economy. This has come about through an investment, over the long haul, in the education of our people. The high-tech industries are here in large part because the educated and flexible workforce is here. Now we see net immigration back into this country.

We now see a reverse brain drain in the university. Some of the very best of our graduates, often in mid career, are returning from abroad to posts in the university. We are also attracting other very good staff from overseas. All of these are bringing with them vast experience and knowledge. This is a huge asset - an intellectual asset - for this country. The net gain in intellectual property is massive.

In order to capitalise on this opportunity, we have to be able to provide the facilities so that such invaluable people can have an active professional life on the world stage. And this costs money.

That is the challenge for this university and the country. In the information age, knowledge is the only meaningful resource. The challenge for us, and for the country, is to find the resources to support research. This is not an option for future prosperity, but a necessity.

University College Cork

Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh

College Road, Cork T12 K8AF

Top