Abstract

Ireland's five technological universities[1], Technological University Dublin, Technological University of the Shannon, South East Technological University, Munster Technological University and Atlantic Technological University have formed a strategic alliance that aspires to be at the forefront of the Open Research movement, creating a more transparent, collaborative, and impactful research environment. These institutions are newly established as universities with a legislative mandate to increase research activity, outputs and impact. Their expenditure on research has increased 70% in the past five years while their scholarly output has increased by 49%.[2]

The transition to an effective open research environment, that complies with the principles of research integrity, presents challenges to many universities, particularly providing adequate support, training and infrastructure to ensure research data, software, scholarship and other research outputs are FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable).

Initiated in the summer of 2022, by staff from TU Dublin, TU-NET is unique in the Irish landscape as a grassroots initiative from library and research associated staff to share expertise, develop common infrastructure and to ensure that future investments in the area of Open Research in the sector can have a wider impact. Achievements to date include a joint statement on open research and a shared repository which showcases their combined research outputs.[3]

Future plans include, but are not limited to, applying for funding for shared human and technical resources in order to develop infrastructure to support their research communities. The ambition is that all staff and students in Irish technological universities have the skills and knowledge to perform their research to the highest level of research integrity and have access to appropriate expertise to support their endeavours, ensuring that excellence in open research is a reality. The network will also act as a national pilot for the Horizon Europe-funded OSTrails project, coordinated through OpenAire.

[1] Technological Universities | Policy | Higher Education Authority (hea.ie)
[2] Sources AKTS Surveys 2018-2022 and SciVal
[3] https://arrow.tudublin.ie/liboth/10/, https://tunet.openaire.eu/