Professor James Gleeson:

I thank Professor Nolan. In our centre for research training, CRT - this would be common across the six CRTs - there is a structure of PhD training within a structured PhD programme which means the students all take certain modules in certain areas. As part of the CRT programme, we have bespoke modules in, for example, entrepreneurship, explaining research impact, communication of skills, explaining how your research is relevant to the stakeholders. That was part of Science Foundation Ireland's, SFI's, original plan. I give credit to SFI for putting that into the original programme.

It has been hugely successful. As I said, all our students go on placements in the summer of their first year. They have taken most of those modules in advance of doing so. Our programme is co-created with our industry partners and with Skillnet Ireland. The feedback from them at the start was that we need technically excellent fundamental thinkers who can help us develop the argument into the future and help deal with the coming artificial intelligence, AI, debate but we also need them to be able to communicate with managers, colleagues and peers across the organisation. In truth, some PhD students in the past may have been not as well equipped in that space as they could have been. We are very much aware of that.

The list of skills is extensive and growing. We constantly get feedback from our industry partners on areas such as project management or data storytelling - those are new names in the field that are constantly important to us.

It is a huge part of the programme. It is safe to say that it has changed how PhD training is happening in Ireland.