1. International Advisory Board June 2011 Directors Introduction Steve Beaumont

2. No further pools to be created No expectation of further funding for existing pools £3M clawed back from budgets for existing pools Existing pools to be formally reviewed Universities expected to meet commitments to sustaining pooling Pools encouraged to make joint submissions to REF2014 Pooling - General

3. Partners continue to invest in Engineering (JRI reports for details) Glasgow Engineering restructured from four Departments to a single School with five Research Divisions: Aerospace Sciences Biomedical Engineering Infrastructure and Environment Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering Systems, Power and Energy IIT Ropar MoU Two members of staff spening time in Glasgow summer 2011 GRPE

4. ERPE expected to make joint REF submission Joint GRPE REF submission to be considered. Issues: Partial pooling Selection policy alignment Submission strategies Detailed guidance late 2011 GRPE: Research Excellence Framework

5. Scottish Research Pool in Engineering Conference/Exhibition in Edinburgh, February 2011 Energy Technology Partnership continues to thrive Scottish Sensor System Centre funded by Scottish Funding Council (joint with Informatics research pool) Cross-Pool Activities

6. Take stock of progress and preparation for future. Consider: What will the impact be on wider groupings across Scotland, e.g. energy? What will be the opportunities for wider cooperation? What should the structure be? Are the existing JRIs successful and aligned with institution priorities? What are funders priorities and how do we align? Can an ETP equivalent be produced? What are the Pan Scottish priorities and what can the GRPE contribution be to it? What are the internal priorities for REF? GRPE Review