Today, Prof. Frank Gannon, the new director general of Science Foundation Ireland, visited the University of Limerick.Liam and Gabriela attended a meeting in the elegant Library Board Room, where the UL Research VP, Prof Vincent Cunnane, introduced Prof Gannon to approx 50 academics and researchers who came to hear about the approach and the plans of the new SFI director.
It was mentioned that research within UL receives no less than 54mil euro from SFI, a lot of research projects (our included!) depending on this funding.
The visit coincided with Frank Gannon's 100th day in the new position. After a brief presentation of the various programmes funded by the SFI and of the intentions for the future, he patiently answered to questions from the audience. Some disfunctionalities were brought to his attention, new alternatives explored, future trends discussed. The Towards 2016 Action Plan was mentioned on several occasions.
It was weird to see that some people kept on referring to their own rejected projects and bad experiences, preventing other colleagues from speaking.
Can't remember last time when I spent 2h in a meeting without checking my watch;)
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