Research in confined spaces

University leadership, HEC policy needs to incentivise cross, interdisciplinary approaches & create grant mechanisms.

As students who went abroad on HEC scholarships over the last decade begin to return and take up academic posts in the country, there is a common criticism about those who earned higher degrees in experimental sciences and engineering at reputable universities. While these students, during their PhDs abroad, were highly productive, they tend to lose momentum as they join institutions around the country. The number of papers coming out every year begins to dry up quickly, new research initiatives often do not yield any dividends and overall, their research enterprise does not mirror the promise they showed when they were graduate students abroad. This is frustrating for the universities and leads to a general perception of money lost on those who simply do not have a research gene in them.

There are two issues here that lead to the demise of that promise. First, we need to recognise that these new academics had carried out research with equipment and resources that are not available anywhere in the country and as a result, continuing that pursuit is not feasible. This, while unfortunate, is a problem seen in many parts of the world that may not be able to afford capital equipment worth millions of dollars. Lack of equipment should not equal lack of innovation, which I will discuss later. But there is a bigger problem that cripples the inquiry from these new scholars. It is often that these researchers join new institutions only to find themselves inundated with teaching assignments that leave little or no room for research, both literally and figuratively. The teaching loads at many (but not all) institutions are mind-boggling. With little relief from teaching and large classes, not only is the quality of teaching is ordinary, but the time left for research disappears fast. On this slippery slope, as faculty stays away from research more and more, it gets nearly impossible to restart the engine of inquiry. Add in the uncertainty of research funds from HEC, a combustible mix of university politics and lack of supplies for experimental research, pretty soon you have very little chance of active high-quality research. I believe that those who are able to maintain an active research portfolio under these extremely difficult circumstances are quite extraordinary.

So what can we do to change the status quo? The first issue is an understanding from the university administration and perhaps, the HEC about the real ground realities. If the universities are serious about restarting the research enterprise then the incentives have to be more than just a lab space and some paltry funds for research equipment. Active mentorship and release from teaching responsibilities early on in the careers of new faculty members is an absolute necessity (as is the norm in most universities outside Pakistan). Additionally, creating a junior sabbatical, sometime between three to five years after initial appointment, where faculty members are allowed to take a semester off from teaching and focus exclusively on their research, may also be a strong incentive. But we cannot expect our academics to be full-time researchers and excessively overloaded teachers at the same time, and then penalise them for being ineffective at either or most likely, both.

The other issue is the lack of innovation among our faculty. There are many reasons for this, but nothing kills innovation more than high demands on one’s most precious resource, time. We all know that the infrastructural resources found at universities in developed countries are likely to be absent from many of our campuses, but this should not stop us from creating solutions to problems of national priorities. At the end, only our own faculty can solve these challenges. Here, the university leadership and the HEC policy needs to incentivise cross and interdisciplinary approaches and create specific grant mechanisms that bridge the gulf between disciplines. As we pool together our creativity and imagination, and there is an incentive to do that, we may find that our faculty may bring back the lustre in their research that they showed while they were abroad.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2014.

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