All universities must share resources with each other to bring about qualitative improvements in R&D activities, the higher education regulator has said while releasing guidelines to that effect.
The Union government has been supporting central universities as well as other higher education institutions in setting up infrastructure and allocating resources to improve the quality of research, the University Grants Commission said in a letter last week.
“Since continuous funding is required for the upkeep and maintenance of the infrastructural facilities, it has been felt that the HEIs should adopt measures to share their infrastructure with other HEIs for optimum use of the available resources by charging a nominal amount,” it said.
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This additional revenue will not only make resources available to institutions in need but also help host universities to manage their resources in a better manner, the commission said. “For this, HEIs may allow their resources, like libraries, laboratories, equipment, etc., to be shared/used during free time by students and researchers of other HEIs,” the regulator said.
{{/usCountry}}This additional revenue will not only make resources available to institutions in need but also help host universities to manage their resources in a better manner, the commission said. “For this, HEIs may allow their resources, like libraries, laboratories, equipment, etc., to be shared/used during free time by students and researchers of other HEIs,” the regulator said.
{{/usCountry}}As per the guidelines, the collaborating institutions should sign agreements to this effect and the facilities may be opened for sharing among institutions that are within the same city or are closely located.
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In case the collaborating institutes are distantly located, the commission said they should only look at the possibility of sharing academic resources. “Such academic resources which may be shared include institutional learning repositories, viz, online lectures, videos, learning materials, and access to learning management systems,” the guidelines stated.
For collaborative funded research, the guidelines suggested that the institutions should cover areas including technology, biosciences, sciences, applied sciences, and agriculture management, among others.
The commission asked all higher education institutions to start taking appropriate measures to extend the benefits to graduate students and researchers.