Wa, Jan. 19, GNA – The Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) is aiming at being recognised both locally and internationally as a research-intensive academic institution committed to generating new knowledge to help solve societal problems.
To achieve this aim, the University is basing a lot more effort on developing infrastructure and instruments that will support staff to undertake research projects, publications and dissemination of research findings among others.
Speaking to the media on the sideline of the Third SDD-UBIDS Seminar in Wa, Prof. Philip Duku Osei, Vice-Chancellor of the University, noted that supporting research intensiveness was to support the broader idea of the generation of information and new knowledge that could help solve a lot of problems including poverty reduction, social development issues, climate change adaptation and development of technologies.
“This is designed in a way that will see to the bringing of new knowledge and additional technologies to our faculty members and researchers so that they can begin to evolve the culture of research intensiveness”, he said.
“We want to move from a first-generation University that just does teaching to a one that does teaching and research and even more importantly to a University that generates a lot of new knowledge and using it to solve problems whilst also commercializing some of the new knowledge for our growth”, he added.
Prof. Osei noted however that this required a lot of resources and hinted that the University, however, was blessed with pockets of excellence that they would want to highlight and deepen to enable other early career researchers to tap unto.
The Vice-Chancellor mooted the idea of establishing a research fund to motivate their researchers to do more, hoping that all these would help contribute to the university achieving its aim of being recognised as a research-intensive University.
Dr Fredrick Dayour, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Planning and Land Management, SDD-UBIDS, noted that availability of funds for research was a challenge impacting negatively on the progress of early career researchers, hence the reason behind the organization of the seminars.
Dr Dayour who is also the Lead Organizer of the seminar said the seminar would therefore build the capacity of researchers on how to write high-quality research work and publishing in a top-notch internationally recognised journals and also how to write winnable research grant proposals.
Dr Stanley K. Dary, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Arts, SDD-UBIDS, and a Participant of the Seminar, noted that no development could take place without research, stressing that research was fundamental to development.
He called on the government to maintain the Book and Research Allowance but also endeavour to establish a national research fund to support relevant research work.
Dr Dary pointed out that if the government invested in research work, she would also be committed to using the results of such research work during the planning and distribution of resources.
Dr Hamidatu S. Darimani, Dean, School of Engineering, Wa Technical University and also a Participant of the Seminar, said the seminar had renewed her confidence and motivation in the research field that she chose for herself.
She said producing quality research and writing grant proposals were two very challenging things for researchers and lauded SDD-UBIDS for hatching the idea of organizing these seminars not only just for the staff of the University but for all other persons interested in research.
“With the knowledge, I acquired from this seminar, I think I now have about 70 per cent chances of winning any grant if I decide to write”, she said.
Dr Darimani noted that the Book and Research Allowance paid them by the government was woefully inadequate and added her voice to the call for the government to establish a research fund for researchers to access to undertake their research projects.
GNA