The federal government and corporate organisations have been urged to support research work by universities to give institutions more resources to fund their research and diversify research areas.
The Vice Chancellor, Highstone Global University (HGU) Texas, USA, Ugah Theophilus Aku made the call while speaking with journalists during an international research conference organised by HGU in Lagos.
Aku, who is also a professor, appealed to both corporate multinationals and governments at all levels to pick an area of interest and fund the research, adding that such endeavour would help both the organisations and the nation.
While stating that research forms a backbone of development for every country, the professor noted that “without research the country would remain where it is; you can see that some of the countries that we are at the same level with twenty years ago, have gone ahead of us because they have invested heavily in research.”
Describing insecurity as a major challenge facing students who are into research writing in the country, the professor stressed the need for the government to urgently address the issue of insecurity so as to enable students get adequate data in their research work.
On his part, President of Highstone Global University, Maurice Azubike Odiete explained that the conference was part of the activities lined up for the 8th convocation ceremony of HGU.
According to Odiete who is also a professor, the research conference aimed to give the students needed background on research methodology so that they can improve on their difficult areas especially when embarking on research.
“It is a culture all over the globe that students must embark on research writing before graduating from the university; so, we want to ensure that our students are well cultured and tutored on research methodology,” Odiete said.
He however, frowned at students who depend solely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their research writing and advised research supervisors to critically examine every research work submitted to them by students.
On HGU, Odiete explained that the institution which was established some years back aimed to contribute towards development of the education sector in the country.
“Highstone Global University collaborates with affiliates colleges and universities via our software platform and brings together future leaders to develop solutions to challenging issues. We help students cultivate impactful learning which is all –inclusive and all accessible,’’ Odiete added.
Given a brief history of the university, he said that HGU started in New York City United States, before it was established in Texas and added that the institution was licensed as a member of the international federation of private university.
A senior lecturer at NIPEM Professional Education Management International, Perpetua Ugorji who spoke on, ‘Research and the economy,’defined research as a structured and methodological process of investigating phenomena through the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data to uncover new insights and validate existing knowledge.
For her, research is concerned with finding answers or solutions to questions raised about observed issues or phenomena or events in the environment, through systematic and logical procedures.
On the benefit of research, she said it leads to the development of new technologies which boosts productivity and efficiently leads to innovations in products, services and processes.
She also said that research creates high skills job industries which would in turn create employment opportunities in wider sectors.
In addition, she said that it attracts foreign investors and entrepreneurs as well as keeps the government informed as regards taxation, trade, inflation control.
“A strong economy provides higher education and research grants, an economy that thrives supports research institutions, a strong economy invests in education which leads to production of skilled researchers and scientists,” she added.
The African Deputy Vice Chancellor of HGU Texas, Okeke Gerald Ndubuisi who spoke on ‘Environmental effect of Ozone Depletion and its Interactions with Climate Change,’ stressed the need for the government to enact laws that would take care of issues related to climate change in the country.
Okeke, who is also a professor at the HGU, called on corporate organisations and individuals to ensure they plant trees within their environment and added that such effort would reduce the effect of climate change in the country.
