Spreading the fertiliser helps research to grow cut `When the Minister'

There were whoops of joy last June when the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, launched the Government of Ireland scholarships for research in the humanities and social sciences and allocated £500,000 to the scheme.

It was the first of its kind and represented a major boost to third-level disciplines, which for too long had enjoyed only meagre research resources. Already, some 38 scholarships have been awarded under the scheme and a second phase was launched last week. Students who were registered for postgraduate research (in the humanities, social sciences or business studies) with an Irish university or institute of technology by last Thursday, October 1st, are invited to apply. The scholarships, which are awarded for a period of up to three years, are worth an annual £5,000. On top of that, postgraduate fees are covered and archival bursaries of up to £2,000 are available on application. This second round of applications is likely to be a once-off phenomenon, according to UCD's Dr Maurice Bric, academic secretary of the interim Council on the Humanities and Social Sciences, which oversees the awarding of the scholarships.

The scholarships were only advertised last July, he explains, and many students who would have been interested in applying were away at the time. In addition, a number of the first batch of students to be awarded scholarships are already in receipt of other scholarships, the amounts of which are deducted from the Government grant.

This money is being redistributed to ensure that the scholarships are awarded to the maximum number of applicants, Bric says. Competition for scholarships is tough. Up to 400 students applied in the first round. "The standard of applications was extremely high and decisions were difficult to make, but we were governed by the amount of money we had to distribute," Bric recalls. "The council is anxious to recognise and award excellence and there is no doubt that the 38 students are outstanding and deserve our support." However, students who were turned down for scholarships in the first phase are encouraged to reapply. Applications are vetted by panels of expert assessors, who are based both in Ireland and abroad; no assessor examines applications from students in his or her own college. No fewer than half (19) of the 38 scholarships already awarded went to students registered in TCD. Ten UCD registered students were awarded scholarships, while four of the recipients are registered in NUIG, three are registered in NUIM; there's one each registered in UCC and UL. Scholars come from a wide range of subject areas including English (six), history (five) and economics (four). Other subjects represented are French, business studies, classics, geography, psychology, politics, political science, sociology, music, education, Irish, Germanic studies and biblical and theological studies. The HEA commissioned CIRCA Report, which was published last year, highlighted Ireland's position at the bottom of the OECD league in its public funding of university research. The report noted the high quality of research being carried out in the arts and humanities and recommended the establishment of research councils.

Last December, Bric was invited by the Minister to prepare a brief on the establishment of a research council for the humanities and social science. His report, which is the result of widespread consultation, is due towards the end of this year, he says. The £500,000 allocated to humanities and social science research is part of the £5 million which was secured in the 1998 Estimates for third-level research and development. The lion's share of the money is going to support science and technology research. When the Minister first announced the humanities and social sciences scholarship scheme, he predicted that it would play a major role in ensuring that young Irish scholars would be able to stay in Ireland to pursue advanced research. Already the programme is proving a success.

"The standard of applications is a reflection of the vitality of the research that is being conducted in our universities," Bric says. "The pity is that we don't have more money to distribute.

"We are encouraged by the response to phase one of the scheme and we will be making a case to the Minister to develop it."

In phase two, he says, the interim council hopes to award a further 20 scholarships.