Project FIS

In light of increasing reporting requirements and guidelines aimed at improving transparency in research, as well as the ongoing competition among universities for external funding, resources, and early-career researchers, the Executive Board of TU Braunschweig approved the project to introduce a Research Information System (FIS) in December 2022. Initial discussions and the initiative for the project developed across departments within a working group comprising representatives from the university leadership, central units, and the administration.

The goal is to establish the FIS by 2026 as a central information platform for all research activities at TU Braunschweig and, at the same time, to use it as a working tool for various processes in research management. The FIS will compile research projects, publications, patents, and other scientific achievements and present them in a linked format with the personal profiles of researchers and organizational units at TU Braunschweig. In addition to the visualization capabilities the system is designed to provide for researchers and university units, it is also intended to consolidate information from various data sources, thereby streamlining queries and grant applications. Last but not least, the FIS will also ensure that research management processes, such as the Digital Research Notification, are future-proof. Between June 2023 and December 2026, the data domains that are central to TU Braunschweig will be implemented in the FIS on a priority basis.

The technical foundation for the FIS is the HIS RES application from the research division of HIS eG. HIS RES offers the following core functionalities and thus meets the criteria of the requirements catalog for a research information system at TU Braunschweig:

• Core Research Data Set (KDSF): Complete implementation of the KDSF standard as a prerequisite for comprehensive reporting (including excellence applications) as well as the ability to map additional university-specific attributes
• Third-Party Funding Report: Replacement of the digital research notification system DiFA and associated processes in Dept. 21, interoperability via interfaces to SAP, more comprehensive mapping of the project cycle
• Communication of achievements & transparency: appealing and consistent presentation of research achievements, projects, publications, patents, and personal profile pages
• Analysis tools: visualization, flexible evaluation, standard reports and data sheets, operational reporting
• Integration: import platform for the University Library’s existing publication data management system (University Bibliography), HR/financial systems