The Library as a Part of Research Development Work

One of the main conclusions of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) conducted at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in 2011 was the need to develop TUT’s publication activities and patterns. It was pointed out by the assessment panels that the researchers’ choice of publication channels was not always successful. Also in the case of many departments the amount of publications was unsatisfactory. In order to address the challenges pointed out by the RAE, a Roadmap for Research was created and it includes measures to improve TUT’s publication activity. At the same time, the importance of publications in the national allocation of research funding has grown. TUT Library has been in a key role in the management of publication activities since the beginning of the 1990’s. At the moment, the library is managing the procurement of a new current research information system (CRIS). The CRIS will increase the visibility of TUT’s academic activities by linking research outputs to projects and groups. The research outputs will be better presented in the context of research areas. Also in order to enhance the visibility and impact of TUT research outputs, the library is boosting open access publishing and encouraging research data management through national storage service. In order to support the development of TUT’s publication activities, the library created an information package called “Publication activities analyses”. The aim of the package is to give tools and support to the departments and researchers to develop their publishing activities and research skills related to promoting research outputs. Additionally, new web pages which are organized according to the life cycle of the research process presenting the library’s research support services were launched

Assessment of Research Activities and Research Quality at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) by Means of Research Outputs

TUT Library has been active in analysing the research activities and research quality at university’s departments and the staff since 1980’s. This poster outlines the process of the information management of the research outputs at TUT. The library is responsible for producing reports on university’s research outputs. The reporting on scientific expert tasks and publications for different purposes is produced via the university’s internal reporting system called Varasto. The material is collected and stored in 24 departments and transferred to Varasto from university’s current research information system called TUT Portfolio. TUT Portfolio is a portal to the academic expertise at TUT. It is maintained by the library and is freely available for all users on the web. Three different reports of departments’ achievements are produced monthly: the departments’ performance-based bonus system, university’s official statistics and the Ministry of Education statistics called Kota. The reports based on similar criteria are produced also for every researcher at TUT. At the end of the year, the university shares the profit money to the departments based on their achievements. The publications and scientific expertise tasks generate the different bonus according to the quality. The articles published in the peer-reviewed international journals are the most important. There are altogether 12 bonus categories in the university’s performance-based bonus system. The library is responsible for three of them. 30% of the bonus money is shared by these three categories. Finnish universities adopted the new salary system and the important part of the system is the individual salary component based on the employee’s competence and performance. The reports on the publications of the whole staff for the assessment panels are produced by this system. The assessment of the research outputs is one method in order to assess research quality and has certain limitations, which had to be recognised. The university has always made an effort to assure the quality of the process of information management related to data collection and reporting. This was recognised in the project by Ministry of Education. TUT was one of the three universities in the large project by the ministry on disciplinary differences in publishing practices. TUT introduces in the project technical universities. The results of assessments have also been introduced in TUT magazines

TTY:n tutkimustietojärjestelmän käyttöönotto

<p>Presentation at the national seminar.</p

Analyysiraporttien kirjoittaminen

<p>Presentation at national seminar.</p

Bibliometriikka yliopiston tutkimuksen arvioinnissa

<p>Presentation at the national seminar. </p

The Character of the Tenure Track Professor Recruits at Aalto University

Aalto University’s tenure track career system offers a well-supported career path for professor-level academics. Since 2010, Aalto University has recruited over 300 professors on the tenure track. Bibliometric analyses have been an integrated part of Aalto University recruiting processes since 2011. The research question in this case study is to analyse to which extent do the bibliometric indicators explain the choice of the recruited professor. The analysis indicates that Aalto University has recruited young, talented and highly cited researchers to the tenure track positions. The recruited professors are slightly at the earlier phases of their scientific career.Peer reviewe

Article-based dissertation, a springboard to success?

Peer reviewe

Bibliometric services in recruiting processes at Aalto University

Established in 2010, Aalto University is a new university with centuries of experience. It was created from the merger of three Finnish universities and today it consists of six schools: School of Arts, Design and Architecture; School of Business; School of Chemical Engineering; School of Electrical Engineering; School of Engineering and School of Science with nearly 20 000 students and 4 700 employees, 390 of which are professors. Aalto University has a tenure track system with clearly set evaluation criteria and selection process. The tenure track evaluation criteria is based on the principles of predictability, transparency, and comparability with international standards. Bibliometric analysis have been an integrated part of Aalto University recruiting processes since 2011 and the bibliometric service portfolio has evolved to support the different phases of the tenure track system. The services are all a result of collaboration between several sections of the university: the Management Information Services (MIS) unit coordinates the bibliometric analysis and collaboration partners include HR, the Learning Centre (Library), Research and Innovation Services (RIS), and the selection committees of the schools. In the publication analysis the international bibliometric indicators are used and the overall methodology follows the policies highlighted e.g. in the Leiden Manifesto and the Acumen Portfolio. The poster will give an overview of the current bibliometric service portfolio, the respective partnerships of the service in question, and volume of the service. The poster will focus on the recently launched new service, the Talent Search that aims to identify and attract good candidates to apply for a tenure track position at Aalto University. Talent Search brings together the knowhow of the School´s search committee, HR recruiting specialist, and the bibliometric information specialists of MIS. Based on the descriptive information about the post given by the selection committee the information specialists prepare a search strategy in the bibliometric databases to track down potential candidates. The dialogue with the selection committee continues until the result matches the intended scope of candidates in terms of their tenure track level and publication activity. The HR specialist is subsequently responsible of personally contacting the identified suitable candidates to market the open position. Aalto Talent Search service specifications were introduced in 2015 and the first appointment based on its results took place in 2017