Navigating The Terrain: Research role engagement in Higher Education

Higher education research and innovation are crucial for fostering social cohesiveness, economic growth, and global competitiveness. The Irish government's dedication to a knowledge-based economy is a significant driver for societal and economic change, as well as to international growth and competitiveness. Through a series of planned changes to reform the sector, Institutes of Technology (IoT) along with a merging partner have consolidated to become a Technological University (TU). The TU Framework which supports this restructure stipulates key areas of development and change, the impact of which has resulted in significant organisational pressure and demands for faculty to actively engage and meet expected performance measures. Faculty role changes require them to transition from a teaching role, to that of a research led teaching role that incorporates research, postgraduate studies and knowledge transformation in the new TU. This ongoing mixed methods study uses a sequential design divided into two phases. This paper presents preliminary findings from the study and offers a sectoral analysis of the IoT/TU environment, highlighting the variety of faculty work roles. Furthermore, the findings of this paper will serve as the foundation and justification for a larger phase two study.