Daily Times

Academic research is an invaluable tool in the educational institutions of Pakistan, which expands the knowledge base and enlightens the mindset of the students and the faculty. It improves the quality of work and speeds up the development of educational institutions of Pakistan. Connecting the research culture with academic base reaps benefits for the faculty staff to adopt and embrace new teaching tools, and to polish and harness interpersonal skills and abilities. The students are able to gain an edge in their academic knowledge through the use of novel and innovative research online libraries.

It is disillusioning to note that there is a dearth of research culture in Pakistan, and policymakers and academicians have paid the least attention to the research sector of Pakistan. The research sector constitutes for only 0.29% of the GDP of Pakistan, which is indeed a bleak and nominal figure. It is quite sad to note that our educational institutions lack awareness of that the creation of an academic culture, which emphasizes a liaison with research experts and think tanks promote a research-intensive environment. Considering this, there is a need for policymakers and research experts to address this deficiency in an organized and in systematic manner.

The creation of a research-intensive environment is crucial in educational institutions of Pakistan to a degree that there stands a need for the research scientists to cater to a culture of research. The researchers must collaborate with each other so that their knowledge, skills and abilities are accessible to everyone and are of mutual benefit to the stakeholders involved. The culture of collaboration needs to be openly created with different higher educational institutions in order to advance a research-intensive environment. The culture of research collaboration promotes prosperity, success and problem-solving capabilities. The collaborative approach should not merely be restricted to knowledge sharing but also in the provision of equipment, and facilities for members belonging to other educational institutions. This hence explains the importance of research culture in establishing a strong base for research and development in the educational institutions of Pakistan.

Technological innovation provides an opportunity to collaborate with various online research journals on the internet. Different communication tools like video teleconferencing, online libraries and electronic mail are easily accessible for researchers in different educational institutions of Pakistan. Research participants can access and procure volumes of information via internet-based technology regardless of the geographic location. This advancement in technology is useful for the faculty members and students in various educational institutions of Pakistan.

Using such advanced measures, a research culture offering a broader base of knowledge deemed necessary for the development of students and faculty members in educational institutions is likely to be formulated. In order to strengthen and polish the research culture, it is inevitable to synergize the environment by encouraging and promoting group studies. The courses introduced should be research-oriented and research-based case studies should be introduced for polishing research-based analytical skills and abilities of students in educational institutions.

Besides, the government should focus on improving the research budget in order to refine, expand and strengthen research capabilities in educational institutions.