Teaching technology managers economic R&D

A new education programme for technology managers should help to improve the return on investment in company research, according to the chief executive of Forbairt. The National Institute of Technology Management has been established at University College, Dublin and was launched this week by the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Commerce, Mr Noel Treacy.

The search is also under way for the first 15 applicants for the twoyear part-time MSc programme which begins in January 1998.

"We have got to improve the efficiency of our R & D spend," according to Mr Dan Flinter of Forbairt. The new courses to be offered by the institute were designed to help enhance controls over technology expenditure. It was a response to the question: "Are we getting the best possible return on research and development investment?"

UCD Belfield hosted a major campus launch of the institute on Wednesday night. It attracted 120 business people and academics who heard about plans for the new institute.

The undertaking was noteworthy for a number of reasons according to Mr Flinter. The director was Professor Tom Allen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and MIT resources would be used to assist the Dublin Institute.

It was also unusual as a collaboration between UCD's Commerce and Engineering faculties which would link the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration.

"We can have all the technology in the world but if we don't know how to manage it effectively, the business and the economy will not reap the benefits," Professor Allen said.

"The fact that it is a cross-faculty endeavour is very significant. The optimum combination is for people who clearly understand technology and also have the management skills to exploit it effectively." He also expected it to serve as an "opportunity for Irish industry to become more innovative".

The initial intake of 15 were likely to be science graduates according to Professor Gerry Byrne, head of UCD's Mechanical Engineering department. "We are targeting engineers and scientists who have been out there in business for a few years. They will essentially be experienced people back in for training."

He expected numbers attending the MSc course at the institute to reach 50 over time. A similar programme at MIT opened in 1982 with an initial intake of six. It now handles about 55 students per year, Professor Allen said.

The initial invitation to apply, published in this newspaper earlier this week, suggested that applicants have at least three years' professional experience. Typically, they would be active in or responsible for the process of technological innovation in a company.

The institute also expected to provide short-term courses and education, Professor Byrne said. The object, he added, was to develop skills which allowed companies to successfully design and implement innovation, whether it was a small high-tech firm where innovation was central, or in larger firms where the technology was only part of a process.

Assembling a frozen pizza product was, at the end of the day, much the same as assembling a car, Professor Byrne suggested. Both required a selection of management skills that enabled finance, technology and innovation to be controlled effectively.