UG on course to improving research capabilities

Jul 07, 2017 News

A school of graduate studies and research is currently on the cards for the University of Guyana [UG]. In fact, according to Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, he intends to appoint a Dean of Graduate

Professor Ivelaw Griffith

Studies and Research in the coming year.
Moves in this direction, he informed, is geared at advancing UG’s capabilities to indulge in research projects in an efficient manner.
“I couldn’t act because of budget limitation to appoint a Dean…but it is part of my priority for next year. We have to have the mechanisms to focus on providing support for graduate studies and research; the two must go hand in hand,” said Professor Griffith.
As he responded to questions from this publication on the importance of boosting research at the university, the Vice Chancellor pointed out that “one of the sad things about the decline of research at this university is that the university did not adequately invest in helping the professional development for research”.
Coming from a background that fully understands and appreciates research, Professor Griffith underscored the need for lectures of any university such as the University of Guyana to travel to various conferences to present papers. But according to him, lecturers do not only have to travel overseas to gain exposure, since they can travel to areas in-country too.
“Think of going to present a paper in Anna Regina or Linden, or Lethem for that matter. Sometimes it costs more to go to Lethem or Anna Regina than it would cost to go to Trinidad, but over the years there was a diminution in resources to support lecturers,” the Vice Chancellor noted.
Critical to research for those within the sciences, technology or health sciences, are the labs and the other necessary facilities and instruments which have been lacking. Moreover, the capabilities for research declined over the years, because the mechanisms to facilitate these declined, as did the possibility for grants.
Professor Griffith noted that although some lecturers will always be eligible for grants because of their fields, some simply haven’t had a chance.
“A lot of them will get grants coming to them because of their professions…if you are a biologist or mechanical engineer.” He however emphasised that there is more to getting a grant than merely being eligible for it.
“What happens when the grant is won? You have got to have some people managing the implementation of the grant too. It shouldn’t be the lecturer doing that,” the Vice Chancellor explained. He therefore pointed out that “Any credible university has to have a Pre-award office helping people to put the grant proposal together, and then it has to have a Post-award office.”
But even before this, grants must be available. As such, he noted that part of “my re-organisation plan, which was approved October of last year, was to have that School of Graduate Studies and Research in place, because getting grants just doesn’t happen. You have to have grant writers; you can’t have the lectures just using their time looking for grants.”
It was therefore important to Professor Griffith to determine, “not only how do you provide those grant opportunities…but it is also how do you create mechanisms to be the outlet for people to research and how do you fund people to go to conferences too?”
But according to the Vice Chancellor, the reality is that as the national university there is need to stimulate and support research not only by the lecturers but by the students. Stressing the inclusion of students, he said that consideration must not only be given to “just fourth year and third year students…” It was with this in mind that the Vice Chancellor decided to establish an undergraduate research programme.
According to him, the undergraduate programme is an integral part of restoring the needed capabilities for research. Currently functioning as the Assistant Director of that programme is Dr. Troy Thomas, who Professor Griffith described as “one of our dynamic Mathematicians.”
But ensuring that all measures are in place and functioning effectively will not materialize overnight, the Vice Chancellor cautioned. He related that “in order to restore the credibility to do research, to create the mechanisms to support it, there are many things you have got to do at the same time.”
According to Professor Griffith, “It sounds nice to say the University of Guyana should be doing this and that, but you have got to ask ‘what are the necessary pre-conditions to get those things in place…”

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