HOW TO ESTABLISH A TRANSATLANTIC RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE FRAMEWORK? PROPOSED MODEL

As Karl Popper noted, “we are not students of some subject matter, but students of problems. And problems may cut right across the borders of any subject matter or discipline.” Not only are problems borderless with regard to disciplines, many problems also permeate geographic boundaries – problem solving and the pursuit of knowledge are international. In order for faculty and students to realize the complexity and contour of grand challenge problems in a global era, international research and graduate education collaborations are essential. Such collaborations are necessary if we hope to build broad intellectual coalitions, which in turn influence how global grand challenge problems are conceived, and then how alternative solutions are considered and conceived. A considerable portion of the research endeavour is how problem are conceptualized; the conceptual boundaries that are used to frame problem spaces shape what questions are asked and indirectly convey what is and is not deemed worthy of pursuit. Solutions that are crafted in response to narrowly conceived problems face less likelihood of broad acceptance and credibility. Thus, international research and graduate education collaboration has potential to advance the intellectual merit of research and can enrich the perspectives of the faculty and graduate students who are the drivers of research.

This paper explores and discusses a new transatlantic research collaborative framework that is carefully designed by academics and research managers to serve long-term mutual interests and benefits of two research communities in the College of Technology, Purdue University (PU) and the Faculty of Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). It has been proposed that a potential collaborative research framework might consist of two main streams:
1. further collaboration under the EU – US ATLANTIS Transatlantic Degree Action which provides support to multilateral partnerships of EU and US institutions for the purpose of setting up joint study programmes - including joint/double degrees - and transatlantic mobility of students and faculty;
2. establishment of the DIT-PU Common Interest Group.

While international research collaborations hold much promise, systematic evaluation is necessary if we hope to understand program effectiveness. Toward this end, we turn to evaluation research. Evaluation research includes both a thorough and accurate description of the entity being evaluated as well as standards or criteria by which that performance is judged.
A model will be presented that depicts the theoretical view of how this transatlantic research collaboration is intended to perform. This model is known as a logic model. Logic models include inputs, activities, outcomes, and impacts.
The inputs, activities, outcomes, and impact of presented in this logic model are based on research reports that address the purpose and conditions for successful interdisciplinary and collaborative research (Pennington, 2008; National Academies, 2004). The goal of this evaluation will be to assess the degree to which each of the inputs in present in this collaborative framework, the manner in which and degree to which these inputs facilitate the activities, and the degree to which outcomes are achieved as a result of activities.