Universities to be assessed on research productivity

Research productivity is on the rise. Yet there is no benchmark system to include it as a quality factor.

A benchmarking system to assess the research productivity of UAE universities is currently being developed by the National Research Foundation NRF in cooperation with Thomson Reuters. The system will measure research performances of all universities in the UAE according to international standards, said Ahmad Alosi, research program manager at NRF.

Universities form the largest part of research producing entities in the UAE, a field made up of research institutes, government institutes and corporations. "Universities are very active in the field of research, each focusing on their respective specialized fields,"

clarifies Hossam Sultan Al Ulama, director of NRF.

The performance of research productivity in a country is considered to be an indication of innovation, and the research facilities infrastructure a way of measuring this. According to experts, research productivity in Arab region in general and the UAE in particular has been relatively low.

There is a relatively low GPD spent on research and development in the UAE, explains Ahmad. "Funds are at the basis of increased research productivity. When funds increase, research productivity increases and this will lead to more publications, patent filing etc."

But also incentive is a critical factor. In a report published by the Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum (MBR) Foundation it was stated: "The obstacles to funding and the lack of incentive-driven work opportunities for researchers are among the reasons for most Arab countries’ weakness in research." 

The NRF encourages universities to provide these incentives. Although a uniform set of standards is not workable in the UAE due to the presence of international curriculum universities, these incentives can be given by creating a sense of community, explains Hossam.

"Lecturers should correspond with each other at conferences, through presentations, or by publications. They should go abroad to attend conferences, or to speak there. These activities have been on the rise in the UAE."

"We are a research-driven university," says Ghassan Aouad, president of the University of Wollongong. "We encourage our students to attend conferences, do presentations, publish their studies etc. We run a seminar on how to have your work published, for example. And all our lecturers are doing a PHD."

But according to Ghassan the UAE needs a useful assessment method.

"There is currently no ranking of universities based on research productivity."

According to the MBR Foundation report the value attached to research productivity in the Arab world is lower than in western countries, where lecturers are expected to spend a considerable part of their time on research.

It is rare for the actual research activity of teaching staff in government and most"

private universities to exceed 5 to 10 per cent of their total academic duties, whereas it forms 35-50 per cent of academic duties in European and American universities, which consider this high percentage a marker of the practical value of higher education and of the effective role played by university professors," it was written. 

The lack of clear guidelines and incentives for fulltime scientific research and development as a profession may explain why most researchers prefer to remain in universities, turn to other professions that realise higher returns, or join the caravan of migration from the Arab region."

Although no details could be given about the benchmarking system that is currently under development, NFR managers indicated that it would be in effect by the beginning of next year and applied to all universities in the country.