Global stars join RAE

October 14, 2005

The higher education funding councils this week named more than 50 academics from overseas universities and institutes who will, for the first time, bring an international dimension to the strategic deliberations in the research assessment exercise.

The additional 56 members of the main panels, which will co-ordinate the 2008 RAE across similar disciplines, also include a number of non-academic experts from government departments and the world of commerce.

Although international academics have been used in previous exercises, this is the first time they have taken part in the overarching strategic decisions in the RAE.

International and non-academic members will make up about half of all the judges on the main panels, with the rest made up of chairmen of the sub-panels carrying out the assessments for different subject areas.

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There is a large contingent of academics from the US among the members - the universities of California, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton and Stanford are all represented on the list, along with experts from Copenhagen, Hong Kong and Maastricht universities. Three members are from the UK Department of Health with single representatives from AstraZeneca, BAE Systems and GlaxoSmithKline.

Ed Hughes, RAE manager at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said: "We asked all the main panels to think about the additional members they might want to have on their panels. It's not easy to get industry people involved in the process, but there are industry people on sub-panels as well as main panels."

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The funding councils said that the members were academics with a high level of knowledge and expertise in research across a broad discipline area internationally, including substantial experience in at least one country outside the UK. They are people whose judgment is likely to command the respect of the higher education community in their subject area.

Mr Hughes added: "Main and sub-panels are meeting soon to finalise their criteria and working methods following the consultation over the summer.

"The appointment now of leading international experts to join the panels will help the main panels as they work towards the publication of final criteria early next year.

"The panellists are looking forward to their contribution to the autumn meetings."

Nominations for additional and international main panel members were invited by the funding bodies in summer 2004.

The funding bodies may make further additional appointments to the main panels as the exercise continues.

Panels will also use international advisers when needed.

The updated full list of panel members will go on the Hefce website this week.

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anthea.lipsett@thes.co.uk

International and non-academic RAE panel members

Renowned health researcher Jeffrey Koplan is keen to see how the research assessment exercise works.

"I'm interested in how you assess public health and academic performance in general. Although we don't have this kind of exercise, it's of great value to me and my institution to see how it goes on," says the former director of the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"You appreciate how complex a research topic is."

Dr Koplan, who is now vice-president for academic health affairs at Emory 51��Ƶ's Woodruff Health Sciences Center, says:"How public health is supported and how research is assessed is important. Much of what we do does not stop at national boundaries."

Dr Koplan was a registrar at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and he has taught at Cambridge 51��Ƶ's Judge Business School.

"There is a basis for personal, professional and institutional relationships that makes the RAE especially germane to things I'm interested in," he says.

Main Panel A (MEDICINE)

Russell Hamilton, Department of Health

Sally Macintyre, Medical Research Council

Murray Brennan, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, US

Garret Fitzgerald, 51��Ƶ of Pennsylvania, US

Lap-Chee Tsui, 51��Ƶ of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Tachi Yamada, GlaxoSmithKline

Main Panel B (PUBLIC HEALTH)

Noreen Caine, Department of Health

Fritz Henn, Central Institute for Mental Health, Germany