 |
Professor Sir John O’Reilly, chairman of the External Review Committee of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal program, was recently appointed as the new director general of Knowledge and Innovation at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in the United Kingdom. He will take up his new post in early February, 2013. |
According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website, Sir John O’Reilly will take responsibility for higher education as well as science and innovation, overseeing Business, Innovation and Skills knowledge and innovation group. He will also have oversight of the research councils, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Student Loans Company and the Technology Strategy Board, as well as three BIS executive agencies: the UK Space Agency, the IPO and the National Measurement Office.
In a statement to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website, Sir John said that “There is no more important task in the UK today than creating a strong, growing economy based on science, innovation and research. I am looking forward to working on this with colleagues in the group, in the Department more widely and beyond.”
Sir John O’Reilly has been the chairman of the External Review Committee of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal program since 2008. Annually, Sir John O’Reilly, Joel Moses (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Tariq Durrani (University of Strathclyde); David Audretsch (Indiana University); and Luigia Aiello (Università di Roma La Sapienza) review the yearly activities implemented by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal program. This committee has an advisory role oriented towards the independent evaluation of the CMU Portugal activities.
Sir John O’Reilly has been Vice Chancellor at Cranfield University since December 2006; and before that, he spent five years as Chief Executive for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Source: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills ( http://www.news.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/Cranfield-University-head-to-lead-business-department-s-Knowledge-and-Innovation-group-68245.aspx )
The External Review Committee of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal program activity:
“We are impressed especially by the way the program has secured strong engagement from industry in Portugal.” (January, 2012)
Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program ERC 2010 Report more
Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program ERC 2009 Report more
