As Queen’s aims to elevate its research profile, community will play a crucial role in shaping its strategic vision.
Before returning to her alma mater and working at Queen’s, Vice-Principal (Research), Nancy Ross, ArtSci ’90, MA ’92, obtained a PhD from McMaster University and spent time working at McGill University and Statistics Canada. In her current role, she’s responsible for ensuring Queen’s produces high-quality research in line with the University’s longer-term goals.
research goals for the University are outlined in the Strategic Research Plan (SRP) 2024 to 2029 draft for community consultation, with six themes of research focus being noted. This plan is still preliminary and pending approval from Senate, Ross told the The Journal in an interview.
Establishing research focus and success metrics
In response to what determined the six research themes, Ross explained the focus is generally on areas where the University already has strong research foundations.
“[The] objective here is to say some areas that we know the University works on and is good at. Our twin objective here is to strengthen the strengths we already have and create an ecosystem that allows for newcomers and discoveries to come in, and create new areas for the University,” Ross said in an interview with The Journal.
Ross said the actual process of picking these themes included consultation from multiple department chairs, the Senate Advisory Research Committee, and the Research Advisory Council.
Ross gave a few examples of how they monitor success in these themes, with the amount of revenue generated in each research area, the number of PhD students graduating, improvements in the University’s global rankings, and the attraction of high-level talent from around the world all being indicators of success they use.
Research themes anchored in excellence
Each theme is anchored by a “story of excellence,” according to Ross, highlighting significant advancements made by Queen’s researchers in their fields. For example, Queen’s Nobel Prize-winning work in astroparticle physics advances our understanding of the Earth and the universe.
The main themes of research Queen’s will be focusing on include understanding the Earth and universe, reducing the burden of disease, promoting health and well-being, innovating in humanistic inquiry and cultural expression, delivering materials for the future, advancing the next generation computing and analytics, and building productive, inclusive, and sustainable societies.
For disease and health, Ross explained Queen’s stands out when it comes to cancer research. “We have a really big strength in bladder cancer, you’ll see some interesting results coming out there in the near term,” she said.
On the topic of cultural expression, Ross pointed out the construction taking place at Agnes Etherington Art Centre, which will make it the largest university museum in Canada.
READ MORE: Agnes Etherington Art Centre to undergo $100M transformation into dream art house
Ross highlighted the theme of “delivering materials for the future,” emphasizing innovative advancements in organic chemistryrelated to coatings that minimize corrosion.
According to the SRP, Queen’s is in the midst of researching AI and digital privacy to protect Canadian data. The Queen’s Centre for Security and Privacy (QCSP) is researching and training individuals in cybersecurity and data privacy which is helping to advance the next generation of computing and analytics.
Driving research excellence and collaboration
The University is ing research to address global challenges and aims to rank among Canada’s top ten research universities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. The rankings cover teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook, and more. Queen’s plans to attract, engage, and retain top research talent, Ross said.
READ MORE: Queen’s impact ranking falls from previous year
Queen’s is hoping to increase collaboration between the University and its academic partners such as the Royal Military College (RMC) of Canada, St. Lawrence College, and community partners such as local research hospitals to create economic development and cooperation in Kingston.
Ross noted while the SRP outlines the University’s current and future priorities, Queen’s remains a large institution with a wide range of academic disciplines.
“We have 850 faculty , we have six faculties and schools, so we have a lot going on and to encapsulate it in one document is extremely challenging. We do try to say that we’re a broad community, we’ve exerted ourselves out there in the world and developed some strengths and we’re nurturing those, and we are creating the environment for growth and change,” Ross said.
on the current report is still open to the public and will close on Oct. 25.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].