26
EDUCATION
OMAN DAILY Observer
SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2009
SQU aspires to do more in research
R
Academic publishing
With regard to academic publishing, it should be mentioned that 1,172
researchers presented papers in conferences and workshops inside and outside the Sultanate from 2004-2007, and
the University researchers published
1,370 papers in the year 2007 alone.
In addition to that, the University publishes six refereed journals in the areas
of medicine, engineering, science, agricultural and marine sciences, arts and
social studies, and educational studies. This undoubtedly shows that the
status of research at the University is
satisfactory and that the University is
constantly striving to develop research
and move it forward through various
forms of support provided to research-
tration of several patents in the use
of solar energy for water desalination
and electricity production, and another
for the manufacturing of fish products
with higher production efficiency, and
most recently a patent for the production of medical extracts from local
herbs. Some of these research projects
have contributed to finding solutions
to some of the problems investigate by
our researchers. Moreover, the implementation of the findings of these studies has resulted in significant benefits
and outcomes and has contributed considerably to the economic and social
development of the country. This has
in turn strengthened the University’s
status, regionally and globally.
Research Collaboration
The University continues its endeavours to strengthen
research area by creating the appropriate climate through the
establishment of research centres; recruitment of competent
academics; motivation of students to pursue master’s and
doctoral degrees; providing grants for distinguished
research projects, and providing top of the line
facilities to conduct research.
Dr Amer bin Ali al Rawas,
Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and
Research, sheds further light on the University’s
efforts and accomplishments in this area
ers. In addition to the internal grants,
the University selects the studies and
research eligible to receive His Majesty’s grants. This shows the considerable amount of research supported by
the University annually.
How many research projects the
University did during the previous
period?
The number of research studies
funded by the University over the past
years, in addition to the contracts, consultations and research carried out by
the University for public and private
institutions, is reasonably satisfactory,
considering the teaching and administrative commitments of all faculty
members and the amount of available funding. In the period 1999-2009,
the University funded 783 research
projects internally, including 73 research projects in the year 2009 alone.
Moreover, since the Research Council
will start providing research grants
this year, we expect to see a noticeable increase in the number of funded
research studies at the University. In
this regard, it is worth mentioning that
His Majesty’s grants provided a boost
for strategic research, which reached a
total of 38 strategic projects by the year
2001.
Requirements and Criteria
What are the requirements and
criteria that the University uses to
decide on the research to be awarded
as either internal grants or His Majesty’s grants (strategic research)?
Does the University intervene in determining the kind of research it decides to fund?
Proposals for basic research projects
are usually evaluated by arbitrators
from inside and outside the Sultanate,
a process that is directly supervised by
the Colleges themselves. Then the Colleges, within their approved budgets,
select the proposals that are recommended by the external arbitrators.
With regard to proposals for large
and specialised strategic research studies, which are funded by His Majesty’s
grants, they are evaluated by external
arbitrators from outside the Sultanate. Moreover, the views of the government and private institutions on
the importance of these proposals for
the Sultanate are normally taken into
consideration in the selection process.
The researcher submits a research proposal to the Postgraduate Studies and
Research Board in the University, and
the proposals that are recommended by
all parties are funded according to the
nature and size of the project. In this regard, the Research and Innovation Affairs Department oversees all approved
projects.
As to whether the University intervenes in the selection of the research
topics, the University does not steer
the researchers to choose any topics as
a precondition to receive funding. The
researchers are given total freedom to
determine what they want to work on.
In this regard, the University provides
half a million rials each year to finance
academic research.
Funding limits
Is there any set ceiling for research funding?
For basic research, funding limits
The University Laboratories provide the appropriate environment for research
vary from one college to another, and
certain projects may receive up to RO
20,000 per project. As for strategic
research, the nature and quality of the
research determine the level of funding, and a project may receive up to
RO 200,000 in funding. With regard
to agreements and research contracts,
they normally depend on the volume of
work; and the agreement between the
two parties; and the value of a contract
may reach millions of rials in oil-related projects.
Is the University funding limited
to its staff, or is it open to all researchers in the Sultanate?
The University requires that the
principal investigators of the projects
be from the University, and they may
involve other researchers from inside
and outside the Sultanate in their research in order to strengthen the research capacity in the country and to
enrich the quality of the research work
during the implementation phases of
these projects. It is worth noting that a
large group of researchers from outside
the University is involved in different
types of research projects in various
fields, including medicine, agriculture
and fisheries, arts and humanities, education, energy, etc.
Over the past years, the University has continually signed research
contracts with institutions inside and
outside the University. How many
contracts did the University sign this
year?
The University signed 37 contracts
in 2008 worth in excess of two million
three hundred thousand Omani Rials
(2,300,000), with an overall total of
285 research contracts and consultation
agreements by the end of 2008. The
University entered into these contracts
with institutions from the public and
private sector in Oman, including Petroleum Development of Oman, Oman
Oil Company, Occidental of Oman,
Oman Telecommunications Company,
as well as with foreign institutions outside the Sultanate such as the Center
for Middle East Desalination, Japanese
Shimizu Corporation Foundation, the
Japanese Naidu and others. These contracts involved research projects in the
areas of solar energy, oil and gas, water
desalination, the environment, communications and agriculture and fisheries.
There is no doubt that the primary
gauge of research activity and achievement in institutions of higher education is the number of research papers
published in journals, in addition to the
books published annually.
The impact of revitalisation of research at the University is reflected in
the high number of papers published
annually in refereed international
journals. The University has already
submitted applications for the regis-
7
Last year the University accepted
two joint projects with the United
Arab Emirates University and the
Islamic University of Malaysia, and
this year signed two more contracts
with the United Arab Emirates University. How much do we benefit
from these contracts?
The University seeks to strengthen
its relationship with research institutions outside the Sultanate and to enter into true research partnerships with
these institutions to address issues of
concern to the Sultanate. These joint
ventures deal with practical issues of
concern to both parties in the areas of
agriculture, and marine sciences etc.
Most importantly, what distinguishes
these joint research projects are the diversity of experiences involved in these
projects and the possibility of benefiting from the experiences of others, in
addition to establishing links between
our researchers and their counterparts
in other universities. For example,
there is a joint research with the United
Arab Emirates University relating to
Characterisation of Camel Milk Protein Isolates as Nutraceutical and Functional Ingredients. In addition to this,
there is another research project dealing with the problems of pesticides and
their adverse effects on the vegetable
crops in the Sultanate and the United
Arab Emirates. Such projects are undoubtedly of great importance to the
Sultanate, since they deal with issues of
direct relevance to us because we have
large number of camels, and we grow
several types of vegetables.
Future plans
What are the University’s plans
with regard to promotion of research
at all levels: researchers, equipment,
and the research environment?
Are there any plans to increase the
number of research projects funded
by the University annually?
The University has just completed
its research strategy for the years 20092013. This strategy aims to deepen the
culture of research in the University
and to increase research output. It also
encourages academic excellence and
innovations and addresses the strategic
needs of the Sultanate. The University
is currently working on the implementation of this strategy through a clear
plan, identifying those responsible for
implementation, the timeframe for implementation, in addition to monitoring
the performance indicators of the various mechanisms included in the plan.
In addition to the continuing and increasing support for research projects,
the focus in the next stage will be on
providing the research centres with
qualified experts and with the resources necessary to enhance their roles,
encouraging innovation and marketing
of research and promoting the culture
of research publishing. Although what
has been accomplished so far is definitely satisfactory, we aspire to achieve
more.
With regard to the increase in the
number of funded research projects,
the University constantly seeks to increase its research funding resources to
increase the number of funded research
projects annually to more than 100
projects distributed between the internal and the strategic research projects
funded by His Majesty’s grants. Moreover, this year, the Research Council
has started to receive research proposals for funding.
This will definitely enhance the University’s resources of funding and will
likely increase the number of research
projects supported by the University. In
addition, the University encourages researchers to seek funding from outside
the University in the form of research
contracts from government and private
institutions, and we expect a significant increase in the number of research
projects in the following years.
By Anton McLachlan,
Dean of Postgraduate Studies
T
HE Deanship of Postgraduate Studies was established at Sultan Qaboos University in 2008
to take overall administrative responsibility
for postgraduate diploma, masters and doctoral programmes. Under this umbrella there are currently two
postgraduate diplomas, 50 masters and 24 doctoral
programmes, which are offered by the nine academic
colleges.
Most masters programmes and all doctoral programmes are research based. The Deanship manages
one hundred new scholarships annually to support students in these programmes. It also applies the regulations, markets the programmes locally and internationally, provides visas for international students, keeps an
inventory of all research theses, assists with various
student matters, and offers a series of skills courses.
Recent initiatives undertaken by the Deanship include revision of the postgraduate academic regulations, encouraging international links in postgraduate
studies, evaluating the quality of research supervision
and support, developing an electronic database and introducing skills training.
Research-based postgraduate programmes in general, and doctoral programmes in particular, constitute
the most important element of research capacity building. Further, doctoral students represent a vital source
of skilled research manpower, contributing significantly to the activities of research groups.
Doctoral students undertake research on a defined
topic or problem that is original, makes a significant
contribution to the field of study and is publishable
internationally. The training provided by this rigorous
process, under the guidance of a supervisor, equips
the student to eventually become an independent researcher.
Academic training in the theory and practice of a
specialised field of study is an essential precursor to
research. This includes knowledge of the literature,
familiarity with hypotheses and paradigms and proficiency in experimental and analytical techniques.
However, in order to manage this successfully on a
day-to-day basis, and to proceed to a professional career, there are several skills that the research student
needs. These are not academic skills but are an essential element in the toolbox of a successful researcher
and professional.
Recognising that these skills are not normally covered within academic programmes, the Deanship of
Postgraduate Studies at Sultan Qaboos University has
established a suite of skills programmes under the general title ‘Postgraduate Enhancement’. These courses
and workshops draw mainly on expertise from experienced academics in the University and are offered
free to staff and senior postgraduate student in the
University. All participants who complete any of these
programmes are awarded a certificate of attendance.
There are four workshop programmes:
1. Basic safety training, which may become compulsory for all research students in science-based disciplines, is a one-day programme covering basic
laboratory safety, safety with chemicals, fire safety,
safety in the field and first aid.
2. Two half-day workshops cover the important topic
of constructing and publishing academic papers, one
version in English focusing on the sciences and the
other in Arabic focusing on the humanities: topics
covered include methodology, literature searches,
structure of a paper, dealing with journal editors and
reviewers and ethical issues.
3. A programme of ten 3-hour workshops covers the
skills needed in academic and professional life, including: formulating proposals, writing theses and
papers, using on-line library resources and referencing, statistical packages, communication and presentation skills, critical thinking and general professional skills.
4. A final package is a workshop for academics, entitled ‘Becoming an effective supervisor’, which
is held over two days: this concentrates on making
academics aware of the skills and sensitivities they
need in order to be able to effectively supervise postgraduate research students in such a way as to give
the right amount of support and guidance while at
the same time leading the students towards greater
independence and critical thinking.
With the introduction of a wide range of doctoral
and skills programmes, SQU marks the maturity of
postgraduate studies, the increasing importance and
range of research-based postgraduate programmes,
and the University’s commitment to providing its students with the very best opportunity to grow and excel
as independent thinkers and future leaders.
13 JUNE 2009
ESEARCH is a key element in
raising the standard of humans’
intellectual and cultural life.
Studies have shown that when science
and culture are well utilised, they can
contribute significantly to the development process in all fields. Since its inception, Sultan Qaboos University has
recognised the importance of research
in establishing the University’s reputation at the global level. Therefore, the
University has worked diligently on
establishing strong foundations for research to guarantee itself a strong and
effective presence in various areas of
research. Over the years, SQU has established a strong foothold on the path
of human accomplishments through
enhancing its research and academic
studies capabilities.
The University continues its endeavours to strengthen this area by creating the appropriate climate through
the establishment of research centres;
recruitment of competent academics; motivation of students to pursue
master’s and doctoral degrees; providing grants for distinguished research
projects, and providing top of the line
facilities to conduct research. To shed
further light on the University’s efforts
and accomplishments in this area, we
met Dr Amer bin Ali al Rawas, Deputy
Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research.
How do you evaluate the development of research at the University?
If we assess the development of research at the University over the past
23 years, we will find that the University has achieved remarkable progress
in research at all levels. In this regard,
the University is very keen on providing the resources and the infrastructure
necessary to conduct research. This
can be seen in the University’s efforts
to support research projects, the expansion of postgraduate programmes,
particularly doctoral programmes, the
development of research centres, the
expansion of research chairs, and support for the publication of research in
journals, conferences, symposia, workshops, books, etc. The University undertakes all these efforts to promote the
culture of research and to increase its
contribution in this area in order to find
solutions for strategic issues in the Sultanate and to enrich human knowledge
in various fields.
At the postgraduate level, the University has a number of master’s programmes in 53 specialisations offered
by all Colleges except for the College
of Nursing, which was established
only recently. As for the doctoral programmes, the University offers 29 specialisations provided by the Colleges
of Medicine, Engineering, Science and
Agriculture. Moreover, the University
has established nine research centres in
areas of national priority.
The Deanship
of Postgraduate
Studies