Research Office: once tried, adopted!
© 2014 EPFL
At the service of researchers and the institution, one year on.
Last year, the Research Office (ReO) was established as a result of the desire of the Vice Presidency for Academic Affairs that the increasing number of diverse research-related queries be treated in an efficient and transparent manner.
The three pillars are National Funding, headed by Ursula Vaucher; International Funding, headed by Caroline Vandevyver and Internal and Not for Profit Funding, headed by Pierre-Yves Bolinger.
The role of the ReO is to ensure that the Grant Applications submitted by our researchers are in conformity with funding body regulations and with EPFL rules. All funding applications for amounts exceeding CHF 50,000 should be uploaded on the GrantsDB server.
However, the Research Office mission goes beyond assisting researchers and also involves performing analyses for the Direction of EPFL and the Deans, which will assist them in defining the EPFL research strategy and to respond to different questions from governmental agencies such as the Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. The Research Office also revises agreements and research partnerships with other institutions in order to protect EPFLs' interests.
Now that relations with Europe are more complicated, the expertise and assistance of the ReO are more necessary than ever to enable researchers to apply to rapidly-evolving funding programmes. In the case of the EU FP7 programme, we assisted with 1,500 EPFL projects, resulting in collaborations with 454 companies.
Additionally, we assist with the acquisition of scientific equipment and deal with applications regarding equipment valued above CHF 50,000.
In April 2014, the Research Office team dealt with 1071 queries (to 98% of which a response was sent within 24h on weekdays). We respond immediately to straightforward queries and more complex questions, which require a personalised response, are forwarded to specialists in the back office.
Some recent developments include that the latest publications by EPFL researchers are now listed on our website.
Adapted from the Flash article “Research Office, l’essayer, c’est l’adopter !”, featuring an interview with the Dean of Research Prof. Benoît Deveaud and the Director of Research Affairs Dr. Kukhwan Mieusset.