About the Rince Institute...

Background

The Rince Institute (pronounced with a "hard c" - /rin-keh/ (audio/mpeg, 2.1 kB, info)) is a national centre for excellence focussed on innovations in targeted engineering technologies. It is located within the Faculty of Engineering and Computing at Dublin City University. The institute was established in 1999 through competitive funding obtained from cycle I of the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutes (PRTLI). The name "RINCE" was originally formulated as a acronym for "Research Institute for Networks and Communications Engineering", reflecting its initial core interests. However, it was and is an explicit part of the Institute's mission that it should continuously review its portfolio of activities, to sustain ongoing innovation across a broad range of technologies. Reflecting this, it is now known as "The Rince Institute" or simply "Rince".  ("Rince" is also the word in the Irish language for "dance": we continue to use this as a symbol of the strong inter-disciplinary collaboration that lies at the heart of Rince's activities.) Rince researchers are affiliated with two schools in DCU, the School of Electronic Engineering and the School of Computing.

Since its foundation in 1999, the Institute has been successful in attracting both national and international funding. In addition to funding from private industry, Rince has obtained funding from Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET), EU Framework Programmes, Higher Education Authority PRTLI, and Health Research Board. Over recent years Rince members have earned an average of €2.4 million in external funding, and a measure of the success of Rince members in achieving funding for its research programmes is that 5 SFI Investigator Grants have been awarded to Rince members over the past 5 years. This large amount of research funding has driven the expansion of PhD supervision within the institute. The increased level of research activity within Rince has also resulted in a major increase in the number of research papers published by Rince members in international peer reviewed conferences and journals.

The main purpose of the current developments within Rince is to build upon the successes that have been achieved since its establishment by supporting and developing a number of key strongly focussed research areas, intent on making a significant and recognized contribution on the research landscape, while also providing an environment where new and less mature research groups can reach their full potential.

Mission Statement

‘The Institute’s mission is to define new research directions, and make landmark contributions to the knowledge and understanding of the information and communication technologies of the Global Information Society’.

Vision/Guiding Principles

• Rince will represent and promote a collective of interests encompassing Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
• Rince will establish national and international reputations within its key research focus areas, and create an environment which allows all researchers to develop their skills and expertise in order to achieve their full potential.
• Rince will create and sustain multi- and inter-disciplinary research partnerships with other research centre’s both within DCU, and nationally and internationally, where these are likely to enhance Rince’s research outcomes and thus strengthen its reputation.
• Rince will act as a lightening-rod for research funding.
• Rince will forge meaningful and mutually beneficial research linkages to new and existing industrial Research & Development Centres in Ireland.
• Rince will develop vanguard postgraduate training initiatives. We will seek to improve uptake of engineering courses in Ireland via recruitment in the world marketplace and via mentoring of the highest calibre students for research-based careers

Objectives

The main high-level objectives for Rince are to:

1. Create three key research groupings within Rince
The following areas have been designated as key research focus areas for Rince:

• Image Processing & Analysis
• High Speed Devices & Systems
• Next Generation Networking

These research areas have been identified as having the required critical mass, track record, and cohesion to be the main flagship research areas within Rince. They are also extremely relevant to the University strategic plan, and are in-line with the main focus of national and international research developments.

In addition to the above areas, it is acknowledged that there will also be a number of small research groups and independent researchers acting autonomously, or in collaboration with the main groups.

2. Increase the quality and quantity of research output
Rince will look to increase both the quality and quantity of research being undertaken within the institute. This objective is in-line with the both institutional strategy outlined in DCU’s research strategy and also national strategy outlined in Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation (SSTI) (2006-2013). The SSTI identifies the need to significantly increase the number of people with advanced qualifications working in science and engineering, with a doubling of PhD graduates by 2013. The SSTI also presents the need for a major enhancement in the quality of research undertaken by enterprise both directly and in collaboration with third level institutions.

3. Be at a competitive advantage in terms of soliciting a significant proportion of funding in line with its standing as a National Centre for Excellence.
Rince’s position as a National Centre of Excellence in innovative engineering technologies should be leveraged to maximise the level of external funding that the institute can obtain for its research programmes. This is consistent with DCU’s research strategy that looks to increase the research income of the university.

4. Develop national and international collaborative linkages with both academic and industrial partners
This objective is consistent with both institutional and national strategies wherein the development of collaborative linkages with both national and international partners is viewed as being critical to future success. The SSTI has identified the need to introduce measures to increase the interaction between firms and higher education institutions.

Actions

• Rince members will decide on its strategic planning and research focus though its existing Plenary Sessions and Rince board meetings.
• Research Officers will be hired to promote, plan, direct and manage existing and new research projects and directions within the three newly defined key research focus areas. These research officers will also work to support and strengthen collaborative linkages with academic and industrial partners.
• Rince will continue to identify and support the main research strengths while also developing young researchers to reach their full potential.
• No new Rince-based layer of administration/bureaucracy will be imposed upon members without a concomitant removal of another layer. The net administrative load on Rince members should be minimised.
• Rince will improve the success rate of research proposals by establishing a library of successful proposals and by providing support to people writing proposals.
• Rince will seek to enhance the learning experience of postgraduate students and through involvement in the development of Graduate Programmes in its three key focus areas.

Management Structure

Rince has the management structure shown in the block diagram:

Executive Board

Executive Director: Professor Barry McMullin
The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Computing
Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Engineering & Computing
Professor Paul Whelan
Dr. Martin Collier
Dr. Pascal Landais
Dr. Ronan Scaife

A comprehensive list of the Rince staff can be found at this link, together with telephone numbers, email addresses and home pages.