1. Starting an Applied Research Program Starting an Applied Research Program: a Case Study from an Administrator's Perspective Evan Weaver Chair, School of Information and Communications Technology Seneca Faculty Forum April 30, 2012

2. Starting an Applied Research Program The Centre for Development of Open Technology (CDOT) Applied Research Centre with between $500k and $1m annual funding focused on open source Involves 5-10 faculty and 5-10 industry partners Involves 20-40 paid students

3. Starting an Applied Research Program The Centre for Development of Open Technology (CDOT) Started in 2002 as a loose association of faculty with a common interest and belief Has become as a research centre as faculty interest matured into an organization

4. Starting an Applied Research Program Environment (former Computer Studies) was: 1400-1700 students 6-8 programs (diplomas, degrees, grad cert) 52-55 full-time profs, 20-30 PT/PL

5. Starting an Applied Research Program Historical challenges for colleges: Research not part of base funding No culture of research, applied research (changing) No accessible grants (changing) Collective agreement Professors’ interests

6. Starting an Applied Research Program History Pre-2004: Research internally funded Research barely funded Done out of professor’s interest E.g. install Linux lab in local HS

7. Starting an Applied Research Program History More recently: Externally funded projects with industry partners, sourced through central ORI Small, single-project grants Little linkage between projects

8. Starting an Applied Research Program History And then… One project unintentionally connected us with a new industry partner (Mozilla) Professor and partner hit it off, students delivered their part New partner funded more…

9. Starting an Applied Research Program History …and then… Tied projects into some courses More partners and more faculty got interested More students got involved More grants became available…

10. Starting an Applied Research Program History …and now… Special expertise is recognized More stable funding is available, including 5-year NSERC grants Partners seek us out Industry knows us

11. Starting an Applied Research Program Were we lucky? Area is “open source” Gives students opportunity to work on world class software Industry values “free” work Philosophy and IP licenses are academia friendly

12. Starting an Applied Research Program Or did we make our own luck? Open source projects need expertise, reject time-wasters Expertise is very hard to develop Trust takes time to develop Granting agencies didn’t understand open source

13. Starting an Applied Research Program Making our luck… Our programs already had strong technical component Our professor convinced Mozilla to pay for his release time Our programs had flexibility of “Professional Options” – no need to change core curriculum

14. Starting an Applied Research Program Making our luck… Repurposed OSS (symposium for college teachers) to FSOSS (industry symposium) Chased money down many blind alleys (on-going) Insinuated OS work into other projects (e.g. MotionView)

15. Starting an Applied Research Program Making our luck… Leaned on professors to take part Rejected a lot of offers that did not include money Had to manage professor burnout Had to manage partners’ expectations

16. Starting an Applied Research Program Defining Applied Research in the college context: Not basic research Novel application of whatever it is you do Benefit to external stakeholder Done primarily by students with faculty supervision

17. Starting an Applied Research Program Benefits of Applied Research to the program: External stakeholder gives perspective Faculty and students are pushed Gaps in curriculum exposed (and hopefully filled) Value of program is promoted

18. Starting an Applied Research Program Benefits of Applied Research to the student: Real-world experience more challenging than most co-op opportunities Work one-on-one with prof and stakeholder Chance to build a reputation

19. Starting an Applied Research Program Benefits of Applied Research to the external stakeholder: Grant funding Inexpensive expertise Source of HQP after project Chance to influence education to produce MHQP

20. Starting an Applied Research Program Tips Be patient, success takes longer than you think Talk to anyone, make arrangements with few Pursue all leads for funding Align with energetic professors

21. Starting an Applied Research Program Tips Use central services Look for linkages between research and curriculum Don’t work for free Don’t sell out Build expertise, build a reputation

22. Starting an Applied Research Program Tips Learn from failed grant applications When in doubt, consider student perspective Manage burnout proactively Make academic limitations clear

23. Starting an Applied Research Program Tips Leverage grants with other grants when possible When spending, be careful to meet grant requirements, often takes juggling

24. evan.weaver@senecacollege.ca scs.senecac.on.ca/~evan.weaver