A new research information system has been under development at TUD since 2014 as part of the Institutional Strategy

Eva Wricke

Research information and research information systems have long been important fields for universities. In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the need for comparable and easily accessible information on the output of research institutions. In light of ever tougher competition, not least as institutions seek “University of Excellence” status, there are also ever greater demands in terms of high-quality and up-to-date data. Benchmarks, rankings, and publication and external funding indicators play an increasingly significant role in competition between universities for external funding and for talent. Research data is also becoming ever more important to universities’ internal strategic positioning and to researchers’ own positioning within their specialist community.

Since 1998, TU Dresden has operated a research information system (FIS) developed in-house to support the marketing activities of its researchers. FIS now has over 800,000 datasets, but is no longer able to meet the demands of today’s research reporting requirements. A new approach was urgently needed. That is why a project for the overhaul of the TU Dresden Research Information System was launched in partnership with the SLUB library in 2014 as part of the Institutional Strategy. The objective was to develop a new FIS to be a central tool for up-to-date communication, documentation, and reporting in research and transfer, and to increase the reach and visibility of research findings from TU Dresden significantly. Valid and easily accessible key data was to be made available to researchers and science and research managers to facilitate research reporting. The task was to find a system suitable for TU Dresden that met data model, sustainability, reliability, and functional scope requirements.

Elsevier won the Europe-wide call for tenders for its “PURE” system, an integrated, user-friendly and largely intuitive research information system. “PURE” is already used successfully at more than 80 higher education and research institutions across Europe. The powerful new system is designed to hold, manage, and interconnect large volumes of research data. That is ultimately what won over TU Dresden.

The new FIS is also providing a new research portal where content released to the public will be visible and easily searchable. In future, it will be easier for researchers to create their own research profiles and use them for specific purposes. Once researchers have input information, they can use it to create CVs in line with the requirements of international funding bodies, for example, or to add their research profiles to personal or institutional websites such as TU Dresden’s WebCMS to present their scientific expertise to a broad public. Everyone working in science and research at TUD will have their own login details and be able to enter their personal details, projects, awards, publications, etc. Separate logins for doctoral candidates and postdoc researchers will encourage them to keep updating their own research details. At the heart of the new research information system is a commitment to added value instead of added work.

The establishment of Unit 5.5 –Research Information at Directorate 5 – Research on February 1, 2018, placed a new focus on research information at TU Dresden. The team, led by Dr. Anita Sbalzarini, is currently working hard on a number of key areas as part of implementation. These include a role-based and rights-based access control model, data migration and requirements for a new reporting system, and preparation for the roll-out.

Launch of the new, integrated FIS is being closely coordinated with the schools, faculties, central academic units, university administration, data protection officer, and Personnel Representation Council, and is scheduled for 2019. Training and support measures are of course planned in the lead-up to the launch and during the introductory phase of the new FIS at TU Dresden.

More information: Unit 5.5 – Research Information
https://tu-dresden.de/forschung/forschungsinformationssystem/kontakt

This article appeared in the Dresdner Universitätsjournal (university newspaper, UJ) 15/2018 of October 2, 2018. The complete issue is available as a free PDF download here. Printed copies and PDF files of the university newspaper can be ordered from doreen.liesch@tu-dresden.de. More information can be found at universitaetsjournal.de.