UGC comprehensive research policy on the cards

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is putting together a comprehensive research policy after noting that research work at the tertiary level of education is scant, of poor quality, and fails to meet world standards. Earlier, experts have said that the traditional approach to research will not bring adequate benefits for a developing country like Bangladesh. They underscored the need to conduct research based on the needs of the country in order to address its problems. They also said that researchers at one university do not know what research is being conducted in other universities because of the lack of coordination and the absence of an online database. Hence, the UGC has taken an initiative to formulate a comprehensive research policy for researchers at different educational institutions to ensure quality and outcome-based research.

UGC sources say that the research studies currently being conducted by teachers at different universities are failing to meet national needs and fulfil international standards in terms of quality of education. Even though budgetary allocations for research work in the country’s public universities have been increasing each year, tertiary-level educational institutions are failing to spend the money, they add. The UGC has found that the research papers they receive from teachers are not up to the mark or based on core issues, say several UGC officials. The UGC has approved a budgetary allotment of Tk. 64.40 crore for research at 45 public universities for the year 2019–2020. This is Tk. 2 crore more than last year's research allocation. Keeping these issues in mind, the UGC has engaged a pool of experts to formulate a comprehensive research policy. Recently, the UGC met with these experts to generate ideas for the policy formulation, UGC sources said.

At the first meeting, the UGC obtained at least 18 proposals from the experts. It has been said that emphasis will be placed on outcome-based research projects and that grants will be provided for national and international collaboration research. It has also been proposed that grants be provided for innovative research and incentives be offered for research works that address problems of national interest.

The experts have also suggested a university–industry collaboration, taking steps to market the published research, as well as providing incentives for acquiring patents based on research results and for the publication of UGC-financed research in journals of international repute.

Dr Md Shahadat Hossain, a professor at the computer science and engineering department of Chittagong University, said: “A university cannot run without quality research. Many of our teachers are doing research but these are not getting the proper exposure due to the absence of a database.”

“We also lag far behind in patenting our research compared to other countries. We are failing to commercialise our research findings. This traditional

approach to research work needs to be reshaped and for that we need a comprehensive research policy,” he also said. “If you look at European countries, including Sweden and Denmark, you will see how they provide incentives for researchers—even for researchers at the grassroots level. That’s why those countries are moving ahead,” he added. About the UGC’s plan on  comprehensive research policy, Shahadat Hossain said: “That the UGC has taken such an initiative is time-befitting as we have not had such a policy since the UGC’s inception.” UGC member Prof. Md Sazzad Hossain said: “The research works conducted by teachers currently are not fulfilling expectations pertaining to the national interest. Such research is not contributing to increase the quality of education as per global standards.”

“We still don’t have any research policy. The quality of a university is determined by the standard of its research. Universities generate new knowledge and create innovations as per the needs of the country and the world. And this comes through quality research,” he added. Speaking about the proposed research policy, Sazzad Hossain said, “We have obtained a number of proposals from the experts. This will help us to formulate a comprehensive research policy.”

“As we are working on how to place our educational institutions in the world ranking of universities, we need quality research. We hope the policy will pave the path for increasing the quality of our research,” he added. “The universities of other countries acquire patents through their research work, while we have barely 10 such patents through our universities. We have to come out of this situation in the globalised era,” he observed.

MK

 

 

UGC comprehensive research policy on the cards

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is putting together a comprehensive research policy after noting that research work at the tertiary level of education is scant, of poor quality, and fails to meet world standards. Earlier, experts have said that the traditional approach to research will not bring adequate benefits for a developing country like Bangladesh. They underscored the need to conduct research based on the needs of the country in order to address its problems. They also said that researchers at one university do not know what research is being conducted in other universities because of the lack of coordination and the absence of an online database. Hence, the UGC has taken an initiative to formulate a comprehensive research policy for researchers at different educational institutions to ensure quality and outcome-based research. UGC sources say that the research studies currently being conducted by teachers at different universities are failing to meet national needs and fulfil international standards in terms of quality of education. Even though budgetary allocations for research work in the countrys public universities have been increasing each year, tertiary-level educational institutions are failing to spend the money, they add. The UGC has found that the research papers they receive from teachers are not up to the mark or based on core issues, say several UGC officials. The UGC has approved a budgetary allotment of Tk. 64.40 crore for research at 45 public universities for the year 20192020. This is Tk. 2 crore more than last years research allocation. Keeping these issues in mind, the UGC has engaged a pool of experts to formulate a comprehensive research policy. Recently, the UGC met with these experts to generate ideas for the policy formulation, UGC sources said. At the first meeting, the UGC obtained at least 18 proposals from the experts. It has been said that emphasis will be placed on outcome-based research projects and that grants will be provided for national and international collaboration research. It has also been proposed that grants be provided for innovative research and incentives be offered for research works that address problems of national interest. The experts have also suggested a universityindustry collaboration, taking steps to market the published research, as well as providing incentives for acquiring patents based on research results and for the publication of UGC-financed research in journals of international repute. Dr Md Shahadat Hossain, a professor at the computer science and engineering department of Chittagong University, said: A university cannot run without quality research. Many of our teachers are doing research but these are not getting the proper exposure due to the absence of a database. We also lag far behind in patenting our research compared to other countries. We are failing to commercialise our research findings. This traditional approach to research work needs to be reshaped and for that we need a comprehensive research policy, he also said. If you look at European countries, including Sweden and Denmark, you will see how they provide incentives for researcherseven for researchers at the grassroots level. Thats why those countries are moving ahead, he added. About the UGCs plan on comprehensive research policy, Shahadat Hossain said: That the UGC has taken such an initiative is time-befitting as we have not had such a policy since the UGCs inception. UGC member Prof. Md Sazzad Hossain said: The research works conducted by teachers currently are not fulfilling expectations pertaining to the national interest. Such research is not contributing to increase the quality of education as per global standards. We still dont have any research policy. The quality of a university is determined by the standard of its research. Universities generate new knowledge and create innovations as per the needs of the country and the world. And this comes through quality research, he added. Speaking about the proposed research policy, Sazzad Hossain said, We have obtained a number of proposals from the experts. This will help us to formulate a comprehensive research policy. As we are working on how to place our educational institutions in the world ranking of universities, we need quality research. We hope the policy will pave the path for increasing the quality of our research, he added. The universities of other countries acquire patents through their research work, while we have barely 10 such patents through our universities. We have to come out of this situation in the globalised era, he observed. MK