Universities must promote and support research

Getting students to embark on research earlier in their careers will pay dividends for the UAE, writes Ashraf Fathi Khalil.

UAE curriculum should be redesigned to add mandatory research components. Mona Al-Marzooqi / The National

Until recently, scientific research in the UAE has been undertaken almost exclusively by university graduates holding advanced degrees, whether by professors in academia or professionals in industry.

Such research brings this country significant value and economic strength.

With the Government’s recent push for greater innovation and a knowledge-based economy, research horizons must broaden and not be limited to graduates.

Research is no longer only for students in pursuit of higher degrees, but rather a requisite part of education at all levels. Schools and colleges have an obligation to equip students with critical thinking skills. Research methods for bachelor degrees need to remain relevant in preparation for contributing to a fast-changing and ever-dynamic job market.

With technological advances, human knowledge has expanded greatly and will continue to do so. For college students, this means the amount of information they must cover simply to remain relevant is now staggering. It is naïve to expect students to retain every bit of information they study; if not used immediately following exams, it will gradually slip out of their memory as long as it remains unused.

Herein lies the valuable role of research that is conducted during coursework. When information is acquired through an empirical research project, such a process would ensure retention over the long term.

At the same time, students gain crucial skills not only in good old memorisation and regurgitation but also in organisation, time management, effective communication, oral and written presentation, statistical calculation, analysis, drawing of evidence-based conclusions, and the list goes on.

Increasingly more time will be spent on research as less time needs to be spent on simply memorising information, thanks to the internet and its search engines. Universities must strategise to bring more students aboard the research train ushering humanity to previously undiscovered lands; it is a high-speed vehicle leaving non-travellers far behind.

In its newly published strategy, the Abu Dhabi Education Council has rightly taken steps to incorporate the development of student research skills into its programmes.

Abu Dhabi University has long recognised the value of an earlier exposure to research, having established eight years ago a fund to support undergraduate students to undertake research projects supervised by faculty. ADU also organises an annual nationwide undergraduate research conference and competition, which has attracted overwhelming participation, proving that university students across the UAE have a thirst for exploration, experimentation and generation of new knowledge.

Especially given student interest in and capacity for research, universities in the UAE must do more to promote and support research activities at the undergraduate level.

Curriculums should be redesigned to add mandatory research components, including research methodology courses relevant to individual colleges.

Dr Ashraf Fathi Khalil is director of research at Abu Dhabi University