Research Policy

The university is committed to promoting research essential for teaching, learning, extension, and outreach programmes. It encourages original, basic, fundamental, and applied research inquiry to create innovation, novelty, generation of ideas, and new stock of knowledge. Research output promotes teaching and percolating the benefits of research findings among students and faculty members. Research creates a roadmap for theory formulation, subsequently revising the existing theory, remodeling an existing theory to create a new theorem, new methodology, new scientific tool, and approach for a persistent research endeavor. Research output is patented and transferred to a corporate entity for income generation and greater application for the welfare of health, culture, economic upliftment, and advancement of the community at large.

OBJECTIVES

• Create a healthy research culture and support system among the faculties and researchers for achieving excellence;
• The thrust area of research is to be identified from time to time for societal benefit.
• Publications in journals indexed in Scopus/Research Gate/ Google Scholar/ Web of Science or PubMed/ Indian Citation Index;
• In-house referred, peer-reviewed, and accredited research journal publication;
• Interdisciplinary collaboration and partnership both at national and international level;
• Responding to ethical issues through the Ethics committee;
• Award of Ph.D./Post. Doctoral Research after successful completion of requirements/ tenure for the award of the degree.
  The Research Advisory Committee (RAC) shall frame policy related to research from time to time.

Thrust areas
The present trend in science and technology as well as the basic needs of locals, the following thrust areas of research are identified –

§ Bio-resources and livelihood opportunities

The NER is endowed with enormous bio-resources (microbes, flora, and fauna) which are yet to be explored for their effective and sustainable utilization. Equally, the livelihood of the people, particularly the tribals is still at BPL. It is an utmost need to investigate the ways and means for the upliftment of these people.

§ Research in Basic and Applied Sciences

The university emphasizes a research environment for promoting research in basic and applied sciences to focus on recent trends and future developments as per the need and demand of the NER in particular and the nation in general.

§ Documentation of ITK and commercial use of IPR

Especially the tribals of this region are quite knowledgeable in the application of ITK, inherited from generation to generation, in the sustenance of their life and livelihood. However, these aspects have not been well attended to and documented at the scientific level to date.

§ Pollution and its effect in coal belt and water bodies of NER

The NER, though industrially backward, is being contaminated with pollutants, especially from the coalfields of this region. Moreover, the groundwater of this region is overwhelmingly exploited, causing fast depletion of its level as well as people are experiencing arsenic and fluoride contamination leading to health hazards. The effects of these activities are still unattended.

§ Preservation, cost computation, and cost management of local farm produce

The ITK often used for farming extends good dividends in terms of produces, yet without getting remunerative prices for the same. Lack of price computation, managerial skill for demand and supply for the same are still prevalent, which requires a skilled approach.

§ Sociological structure and its hierarchy in NER

The tribals and the locals of this region are equipped with their own hierarchical systems to solve their disputes and settle them without the involvement of the existing laws of the land. This method of execution, for example, the “Dorbar” system of Khasis, in resolving many of the issues, surface between and within them has been proved to be successful. Therefore, this system needs a thorough look both at the micro and macro level for maintaining social harmony.

§ Financial inclusion in NER: microcredit and microinsurance

Today’s economy for sustainable development requires the institution of a micro-financing system for the welfare of the poor particularly the tribals. Both the micro-credit systems as well as the insurance sector will be able to extend firm and viable livelihood, which needs critical and careful analysis.

Basic obligations in research

The primary responsibility for the selection and conduct of research shall rest with the researchers to :

• Maintain the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and ethical behavior in all research;
• Familiarize himself or herself with and abide by the regulations, policies, and guidelines of the university and any agency relevant to his or her research;
• Not to misrepresent his or her academic, professional, or employment credentials or experience;
• Obtain the necessary approvals related to ethics, protocol, and standard operating procedure before engaging in research activity for which prior approval is necessary;
• Use scholarly and scientific rigor and integrity in obtaining, recording, analyzing, reporting, and publishing the results.
  Policy and guidelines

(i) Research data

§ Each faculty and researcher shall be bound to generate authentic data as an outcome of his/ her research which will be published in reputed journals.

• Data concerning human and animal subjects will be in accordance with the regulatory framework;
• The researcher shall respect the personal information and privacy in his or her collection and use of data;
• Researchers must adhere to the applicable rules and regulations of the appropriate funding and permitting agencies;
  (ii) Collaborative research
• Researchers shall ensure the authorship of published work includes all those who have made significant contributions to the research field and share responsibility for the same;
• The university will assist in facilitating the resolution of disputes, if any, between research collaborators.
  (iii) Collaborative Data
• Research collaborators at the time of commencement shall make all reasonable efforts to reach an agreement consistent with the rules and regulations relating to intellectual property rights;
• In absence of any clause in the agreement shall always be governed by the laws of the IPR.
  (iv) Research funds and management
• A corpus fund of Rs. 50 lakhs has been allocated;
• Generation of research fund shall/ will the main from public/ private organizations
• Faculty members will ensure submission and execution of independent, collaborative, and consultancy projects;
• A Principal Investigator (PI) must ensure that all research funds administered by him or she are used with honesty, integrity, and accountability;
• The PI and researchers shall comply with the regulatory framework and policies of the university and the funding agencies in terms of fund management;
• The PI and researchers shall give due acknowledgment to all the funding agencies in all published works resulting from the research.
• The university may request outside agencies for financial support to carry out major research projects in the field of the recent domain of research as per the suggestion of the granting organization.
• The University encourages faculties who get financial grants from outside organizations/ agencies (government and non-government by way of promotion/ felicitation.
• The University provides financial assistance to the faculties who attend seminars/workshops/symposiums (both national and international)
• Faculties with a good number of research papers published in high impact factor (Scopus/ Web of Science etc.) peer-reviewed journals are encouraged with promotion/ felicitation.
• The university provides financial grants to the faculties for carrying out minor research projects.
• The university will constitute an advisory committee for each externally funded research project for monitoring of utilization of funds, progress, and implementation of the project. The committee will send the report to the RAC on a regular basis.
  (v) Research Fellowships
• Candidates having JRF, SRF from government funding agencies i.e. UGC, DBT, DST ICSSR, etc. may enroll in a Ph.D. programme of the university.
• The institutional fellowship shall be awarded based on the Ph.D. entrance test.
• Some institutional fellowships may also be awarded to admit research scholars through the University Fellowship Test (UFT), which is administered on a regular basis.
• Internal faculty members of the university may also join in the Ph.D. programme under an institutional fellowship scheme.
  (vi) Research involving humans and animals

§ Any research where animals shall be used, the strict clause of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960 and The Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998, 2001, 2006 shall be followed;

• Before initiating research, a proposal shall be submitted to the Institutional Ethics Committee for approval;
• Policies and guidelines of the Institutional Ethics Committee shall be followed in each and every step of the research.
  (vi) Research on hazardous chemicals
• The researcher shall obtain all necessary approval before accepting delivery of hazardous materials, or embarking on the activities in question from the Research Advisory Committee/ URC;
• The researcher engaged in a research activity that poses a significant recognizable inherent risk of physical injury shall take appropriate measures to address the emergency situation.
• For proper disposal of hazardous solid, liquid and radioactive components incineration unit has been installed
  (vii) Intellectual property

§ New finding/ method shall be patented and the research work shall be protected through copyright from the competent authority;

§ Researcher(s) whose research finding or process contributed in patenting received due proper credit;

• Research collaborators shall endeavor to reach an agreement, consistent with the regulatory framework concerning the allocation of intellectual property.
• An external person has an interest in the research, the research collaborators, the university, and such person shall, following negotiations with the Office of Technology Transfer, establish by contract:
  (i) ownership of intellectual property arising out of any research-related agreement;

(ii) the rights and obligations of the parties to seek patents; and

(iii) the entitlement of the parties to share in any associated royalties.

(viii) Commercialization of research

• Without prejudice to the rights of a researcher’s collaborators or sponsors of research, a researcher shall not be obliged to seek commercial development of his or her invention, software, or other discovery. The university shall respect the decision of a researcher not to commercialize his or her invention, software, or other discovery.
• A researcher who elects not to seek the commercial development of an invention, software, or other discovery may, in accordance with the Regulatory Framework governing intellectual property, permit its commercial development by his or her collaborators.
• A researcher who chooses to develop an invention, software, or other discovery or become directly involved in its commercial application must adhere to the intellectual property regulatory framework.

(ix) Conflict of interest

• A researcher shall comply with the regulatory framework governing conflicts of interest, and consulting activities.
• A researcher shall disclose to all relevant persons (including other institutions, agencies, conference organizers and participants, and journals and publishers) any conflict of interest that might influence such persons’ decisions such as whether a researcher should be asked:
  (i) to review research proposals, funding applications, or manuscripts;

(ii) to test inventions, software, or other discoveries;

(iii) to present research results; or

(iv) to be permitted to undertake research sponsored by outside people.

(x) Research misconduct

• A Researcher shall not knowingly engage in plagiarism.
• A researcher shall obtain the prior permission of another person before using, even with proper attribution, the unpublished work or data of the other person.
• Any action that is inconsistent with integrity, honesty, or the regulatory framework, including this regulation, may constitute a disciplinary offense and, where appropriate, shall be investigated in accordance with the regulatory framework.

(xi) Research related agreements

All research-related agreements must be approved through the university-level Research Advisory Committee and executed according to the regulatory framework.

(xii) Review of regulation

This regulation will be viewed from time to time by a competent authority and approval should be obtained as per university regulation.

FACILITIES

• Provision for a partial grant for outside laboratory analysis of the research samples for P.G. and Ph.D. scholars;
• Provision for partial travel and subsistence assistance for those PG students who visit other universities or institutes for a research purpose;
• University offers partial grant/ assistance to the PG students for participating and presenting papers in seminars and workshops within the country;
• University has the policy to enrich the central library (both offline and online) to encourage research activities;
• Socially and economically weaker students (ST, SC, OBC, and EWS), as well as differently-abled, are offered special discounts/ free books for conducting research work;
• Provision to award fellowship/ scholarship to the meritorious students;
• University has the policy to give more attention to the upliftment of women empowerment in research.

Research Policy