Student's corner

Dear Students,

LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think Indian institutes should push research activities on campus on their own rather than waiting for government policies for any such measure?

BEST RESPONSE

We have heard government after government promising to increase budget allocation in science and technology to at least two per cent of GDP, but all has been empty boosting till now. So Indian institutes should start research activity on their own as research is the original contribution to knowledge which also contribute to service knowledge and service development. India requires research to grow and develop. Besides, research will help in setting infrastructure, ameli orating living condition of masses, building environment of growth and modern thought.

 

-- Nilaya Mitash Shanker, Indian Institute Of Technology, Roorkee.

OTHER RESPONSES:

Research is an integral part in the development process of an institute. It is the research activities conducted on campus which influences the stature of an institute thereby determining its position with respect to the others. Research is of utmost importance in the current scenario prior to the other requirements. Thus, it would be recommendable for the Indian Institutes to conduct more research oriented activities rather than just carrying on with their regular curriculum. But the research should be done as per the guidelines laid out by the government, giving due respect to the official rules.

-- Shivam Chhabra, Integral University, Lucknow.

Indian institutes must do joint collaboration with government or private sectors in order to push research activities.This would further enhance the ability of Indian students to compete at global level and would attract people to develop interest as well as knowledge in practical aspects of theory.That would increase our employability.

-- Rituparna Saha Ray, Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues Institute of Management Studies, Vashi.

Researches are an important source of finding out answers to the questions, propping rapidly in the present changing business environment. But whether these answers can be found out by the students along with the highly demanding courses they are pursuing is a bit skeptical. Therefore it would be better to revise the curriculum in such a way that it allows sufficient time to the students to effectively carry on their researches. Unless researches done are conducted accurately the whole purpose of research is irrelevant. Students need support from institutions for these research more than their permission.

-- Neha Singh, IBS, Gurgaon

Indian institutes should definitely bring in the research activities into the campus on their own. There is a dire need to study various events and to postulate some theories and jot down data based on the recent events affecting all the educational fields. Waiting for government to take such a measure is something institutes should not rely upon. Also, such researches will enrich the student's knowledge and would expose them to some practical events of the real world making then more employable.

-- Garima Singh, KIET, Ghaziabad.

Research in Indian Institutes can only be improved with the help of industry. In India, the percentage of turnover that industries have allocated for research is very less, worldwide two percent of industry turnover goes to research development activities. The research in India is done mostly in Government laboratories or government funded institutions that is not sustainable, this is one facet that needs to be addressed. But foreign universities and MNC's showing their interest in Indian Institutions to promote & develop research center inside the institutes and providing financial help.

-- Rohit Dwivedi, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida.

The quality and quantity of research dictate the level of innovation in a country like India. A major chunk of this research comes from India’s premiere educational institutions. The Global Innovation Efficiency Index 2012 shows that India comes second in the world when it comes to transforming given innovation inputs (research activities) into innovation outputs. 143 Indian Institutes have already collaborated with International Institutes with a focus on research activities according to a report by the UK India Education Research Initiative .Thus, Indian Institutes have already reduced their reliance on government policies alone when it comes to research activities.

-- Pratik Nayak, Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Bangalore.

There had been a steady growth of R&D centers in India by 871 compared to 780 in 2008 which indicates the need for companies looking for talents who can convert the knowledge about the implications in new trends into implementable growth strategies. Creating an environment to research and contribute, to these Indian industries is greatly demanded from these educational pillars, who can cultivate the needs for development of edge cutting practices to compete globally that can cater to the dark society who still expects the limelight to shower on them.

-- Visheta K, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore

Most of the research in India is done by research institutes like IISc, ISI, IITs, or by institutes under the CSIR – all receiving funding from the government to carry out their work. In the west, it is the business enterprises which fund the research, with equal help from the government, in way of their R&D policies. Premier institutes like Harvard, Stanford and Princeton have turned into cradles of innovation. This is reflected by the average citations per article of 6.45 in USA as compared to 2.71 in India. Indian institutes should push for more industry collaboration to make their research see the light of the day.

-- Arunansu Kumar, Xavier Institute of Management And Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore.

Indian Institutes are handicapped when it comes to Research activities on campus. The fact that Research involves huge time investment without considerable monetary gains keeps smart youngsters from entering the field. Bodies like AICTE giving due importance to Research work during affiliation of institutes have made the latter pay more attention to Research. Institutes should motivate students to think innovative and thus promote Research on its own accord; and not wait for government policies to push research; so that your Institute gets known through the inventions of its students; like University of Waikato is known for Weka software.

-- Glorin Sebastian, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore.

Indian institutes lag far behind their global peers in the field of research which severely impacts the image in the globalized world. The control of the premier institutes by government leads to bureaucratization of education as these institutes are overly dependent on the government policies for funding their research projects. Rather the institutes should push the research activities from their side, making it an attractive prospect. There is no dearth of talent; it is the lack of facilities which drives research scholars abroad. Although substantial government support is needed for research, yet being proactive is the need of the hour.

-- Prateek Parimal, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).

Research in our country has been mostly confined to the elite business schools and top engineering colleges such as IIMs, IITs and NITs. There has been a declining trend in research in Indian institutes. Research management in universities is a serious problem faced by many Indian universities. Indian institutes and universities need not wait for government policies to push for research activities. Indian institutes can partner with universities abroad in conducting research activities. Research activities will give a competitive advantage and institutes can earn reputation in this manner. Research management will help Indian institutes in attaining global competency.

-- Aparna Nagarajan, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore.

National policies dictate how public funds are spent, including research. But while governments regulate markets well, markets are better placed for competing technologies/research fields to evolve. Hence, independent private sector involvement is advisory but with such funds lacking in India, universities are forced to follow even patently flawed/delayed government policies, to get their research programs funded. For India to technologically develop, private funders should help institutes pursue research they want, with no strings attached. Alternatively, governments should give grants with longer period evaluations, to allow failures and successes to balance over time.

-- Arun Sundar, XIME, Bangalore.

With a raising concern over the employability of the students passing out from the Indian Institutes,it is high time that the institutes implement research activities at their campuses.It will also benefit the students to have a current knowledge about the industry and its requirements.Many of the top Institutes in the world publish their own research papers which determines the global ranking of that institute,hence if the institutes can fund their own research activities they should definitely take the initiative rather than waiting for the government policies.

-- Kiran Vispute, Fr. C Rodrigues Institute of Management Studies, Vashi.

India is still labeled as a developing country and now the time has come that we must transit from developing to a developed nation and thus we need more talent and insight into research work which can help India increase its presence globally. Thus, I believe Indian Institutes should push research activities on campus on their own so that the talent may never become outdated or has to wait for some policy to get passed. Only then we can dream of a better nation called India.

-- Siddharth Agarwal, Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras.

Due to the recent scams the government won't be able to take serious steps on the path of research as it will be busy to settle its own personal issues. Expectations from the government can be seen as a dim light in the dark night and the institute should realized they should stand on their feet in order to push research activities otherwise the hope from the government will remain as a hope only and might take a long time to turn into reality.

-- Harsh Mehta, St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies, Ahmedabad.

Research activity directly depends on the policy of the government because when the institute works for research they should take care of the political environment of India. And the implemented phase mostly depends upon the government which may reduce output of the research. So it's better to do research by their own which can be helpful for the country to get more feasibility of the economic, geographical and the political environment as well as the research done in the institutes can be implemented independently, and they can make a patent agreement with the Government for which they can be benefited.

-- Prasenjit Ghosh, Unitedworld School of Business, Ahmedabad.

Your responses should reach us at edu@business-standard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute's name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Should Indian institutes focus on having international faculty and students on campus or providing better education to Indian students?