The R2D2 projection alarm clock

A recent report from the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (ACSTI) has found that Irish R&D firms employing PhD researchers get better results than those that don't.

The key thing in employing someone with a PhD, the report says, is that patent applications are two-and-a-half times more likely than with firms that have no PhD staff.

The report also underlines the importance of PhDs in the so-called smart economy, and the need for Ireland to keep a high output of PhDs in relevant disciplines.

It is here, however, that Ireland is falling down. We have a dearth of PhDs in this country and the current situation means we are importing many people with fourth-level qualifications from other countries. As Ireland is not the most attractive place to live and work for foreign nationals now, it is going to be harder to get people to come here. Added to that is the elevating crisis in IT, science and maths education in schools, leading to an alarming drop-off in the numbers of people taking technology or science courses at third level. We are at the precipice of a collapse in our R&D sector unless something is done very quickly.

While the report recommended the development of fourth-level education and underlined the importance of PhDs for ongoing competitiveness, it lacked any plan or insight into how to solve the PhD conundrum. That is the problem with reports such as these. They do very little except state the obvious; they offer no solutions and merely give politicians a chance to utter more platitudes and rhetoric. This navel-gazing is a waste of time and money.

Conor Lenihan, minister for science, technology and innovation, said of the report that it highlighted the benefits that PhD graduates bring to the country as Ireland attempts to build a smart economy.

With all due respect to the minister, this is the usual sort of twaddle that we hear from Eamon Ryan's office. When we see a plan in place that is results-driven, we might start to believe in the idea of a smart economy despite our deficiencies in communications infrastructure and PhD graduates. Until then it remains the pipe dream of civil servants writing "wouldn't it be nice" speeches for their respective ministers.

Five Christmas gifts for the gadget guru in your life

With Christmas almost upon us I thought I would scour the internet and see if my eye caught any cool gadgets that could be given as presents for the tech hound/gizmo person in your life.

In no particular order, here are five that would be fun to buy and should meet with (at the very least) an appreciative smile.

* Bubble burster keyring (€9.99)

With the world becoming greener, bubble wrap may be heading for an exit so what better replacement could there be than the sound reproduced through a bubble-bursting keyring? Every time you press one of the electronic bubbles, it makes a popping noise. It might sound foolish but it is addictive.

* Star Trek USB vommunicator VOIP phone (€60)

This gadget looks and feels like Captain Kirk's communicator. In fact it is also a VOIP phone that, via USB, can be plugged into a computer. Beam me up!

* Mini Marshall amp MS2 (€39)

God might have given us rock 'n' roll but man certainly invented the amplifier. And here is a gift for that guitar hero in your house. It's a portable battery/mains operated micro amp, stuffing full Marshall tone into a wee case measuring just 14cm x 11cm x 6cm. But remember – no 'Stairway'!

* R2D2 projection alarm (€30)

The lovable droid from Star Wars can now be your personal alarm clock. The time can be projected onto nearby surfaces or viewed normally on the body of the device and it also features the familiar beep and whistle sounds of R2D2.

* T-Qualiser sound sensitive T-shirt (€30)

Like music? Like dancing? Well, this T-shirt could be for you. It has a small, thin, built-in graphic equaliser panel that is sound sensitive. As the music beats, the equaliser lights up to the beat.