ICT research manager

ICT research managers plan, manage and monitor research activities and evaluate emerging trends in the information and communication technology field to assess their relevance. They also design and oversee staff training on the use of new technology and recommend ways to implement new products and solutions that will maximise benefits for the organisation.

Includes people performing managerial research activities.
Excludes people performing development activities.

The following job titles also refer to ICT research manager:

ICT innovation manager
technology innovation manager
IT research manager
ICT research managers
IT innovation manager

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as ICT research manager. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

ICT research manager is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to ICT research manager.

computer scientist
ICT research consultant
user experience analyst
ICT test analyst
digital games tester

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of ICT research manager. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of ICT research manager with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of ICT research manager.

Innovation processes: The techniques, models, methods and strategies which contribute to the promotion of steps towards innovation.
Organisational policies: The policies to achieve set of goals and targets regarding the development and maintenance of an organisation.
Ict project management: The methodologies for the planning, implementation, review and follow-up of ICT projects, such as the development, integration, modification and sales of ICT products and services, as well as projects relating technological innovation in the field of ICT.
Ict market: The processes, stakeholders and the dynamics of the chain of goods and services in the ICT market sector.
Scientific research methodology: The theoretical methodology used in scientific research involving doing background research, constructing an hypothesis, testing it, analysing data and concluding the results.

These skills are necessary for the role of ICT research manager.

Apply system organisational policies: Implement internal policies related to the development, internal and external usage of technological systems, such as software systems, network systems and telecommunications systems, in order to achieve a set of goals and targets regarding the efficient operations and growth of an organisation.
Conduct literature research: Conduct a comprehensive and systematic research of information and publications on a specific topic. Present a comparative evaluative literature summary.
Write research proposals: Synthetise and write proposals aiming to solve research problems. Draft the proposal baseline and objectives, the estimated budget, risks and impact. Document the advances and new developments on the relevant subject and field of study.
Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
Apply statistical analysis techniques: Use models (descriptive or inferential statistics) and techniques (data mining or machine learning) for statistical analysis and ICT tools to analyse data, uncover correlations and forecast trends.
Manage ict project: Plan, organize, control and document procedures and resources, such as human capital, equipment and mastery, in order to achieve specific goals and objectives related to ICT systems, services or products, within specific constraints, such as scope, time, quality and budget.
Conduct scholarly research: Plan scholarly research by formulating the research question and conducting empirical or literature research in order to investigate the truth of the research question.
Monitor technology trends: Survey and investigate recent trends and developments in technology. Observe and anticipate their evolution, according to current or future market and business conditions.
Conduct quantitative research: Execute a systematic empirical investigation of observable phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques.
Innovate in ict: Create and describe new original research and innovation ideas within the field of information and communication technologies, compare to the emerging technologies and trends and plan the development of new ideas.
Monitor ict research: Survey and investigate recent trends and developments in ICT research. Observe and anticipate mastery evolution.
Plan research process: Outline the research methodologies and schedule in order to ensure that the research can be thoroughly and efficiently executed and that the objectives can be met in a timely manner.
Conduct qualitative research: Gather relevant information by applying systematic methods, such as interviews, focus groups, text analysis, observations and case studies.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of ICT research manager. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Agile project management: The agile project management approach is a methodology for planning, managing and overseeing of ICT resources in order to meet specific goals and using project management ICT tools.
Mdx: The computer language MDX is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the software company Microsoft.
Xquery: The computer language XQuery is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the international standards organisation World Wide Web Consortium.
Emergent technologies: The recent trends, developments and innovations in modern technologies such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Sparql: The computer language SPARQL is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the international standards organisation World Wide Web Consortium.
Crowdsourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising business processes, ideas or content by gathering contributions from a big community of people, including on-line groups.
Information extraction: The techniques and methods used for eliciting and extracting information from unstructured or semi-structured digital documents and sources.
Outsourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising external services of providers to execute business processes.
Resource description framework query language: The query languages such as SPARQL which are used to retrieve and manipulate data stored in Resource Description Framework format (RDF).
Query languages: The field of standardised computer languages for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information.
Ldap: The computer language LDAP is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information.
Ict project management methodologies: The methodologies or models for planning, managing and overseeing of ICT resources in order to meet specific goals, such methodologies are Waterfall, Incremental, V-Model, Scrum or Agile and using project management ICT tools.
Linq: The computer language LINQ is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the software company Microsoft.
Process-based management: The process-based management approach is a methodology for planning, managing and overseeing of ICT resources in order to meet specific goals and using project management ICT tools.
Lean project management: The lean project management approach is a methodology for planning, managing and overseeing of ICT resources in order to meet specific goals and using project management ICT tools.
Insourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising business processes internally, usually in order to maintain control of critical aspects of work.
N1ql: The computer language N1QL is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the software company Couchbase.
Ict power consumption: The energy consumption and types of models of software as well as hardware elements.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of ICT research manager. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Create solutions to problems: Solve problems which arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.
Execute analytical mathematical calculations: Apply mathematical methods and make use of calculation technologies in order to perform analyses and devise solutions to specific problems.
Provide user documentation: Develop and organise the distribution of structured documents to assist people using a particular product or system, such as written or visual information about an application system and how to use it.
Perform data mining: Explore large datasets to reveal patterns using statistics, database systems or artificial intelligence and present the information in a comprehensible way.
Conduct research interview: Use professional researching and interviewing methods and techniques to gather relevant data, facts or information, to gain new insights and to fully comprehend the message of the interviewee.
Execute ict user research activities: Perform research tasks such as recruitment of participants, scheduling of tasks, collecting of empirical data, data analysis and production of materials in order to assess the interaction of users with an ICT system, program or application.
Apply reverse engineering: Use techniques to extract information or disassemble an ICT component, software or system in order to analyse, correct and reassemble or reproduce it.
Coordinate technological activities: Give instructions to colleagues and other cooperating parties in order to reach the desired outcome of a technological project or achieve set goals within an organisation dealing with technology.
Report analysis results: Produce research documents or give presentations to report the results of a conducted research and analysis project, indicating the analysis procedures and methods which led to the results, as well as potential interpretations of the results.
Build business relationships: Establish a positive, long-term relationship between organisations and interested third parties such as suppliers, distributors, shareholders and other stakeholders in order to inform them of the organisation and its objectives.
Process data: Enter information into a data storage and data retrieval system via processes such as scanning, manual keying or electronic data transfer in order to process large amounts of data.

1223 – Research and development managers

 

 

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References

1. ICT research manager – ESCO