By: Anugyan Sharma and Prof PB Sharma
As the global community moves deeper into the era of great opportunities to innovate and excel, creating an upsurge of economic growth and advancement of human society to new altars of scientific advancement and game-changing technology innovations, universities are required to do a serious rethinking of redesigning curriculums to gravitate with an integrative environment of learning and research. Such an environment shall unleash the power of creativity and infinite power of innovative genius of students and scholars. This will also pave the way for the most effective interface with industries and the policymakers in the government who always look for innovative outcome from the scholastic and innovative minds of the university community. This becomes all the more important today when the rich talent pool of university students and scholars have a great opportunity to collaborate and with the easy access to the vast knowledge reservoir, and create deeper insights into both learning and research in their degree programs. Students today have opportunities to engage in cutting-edge research and innovations if great value to the community and the industry.
It is therefore important to create an enabling ecosystem for the talent to flourish in an integrative environment of education and research and give expressions to immense creativity and innovativeness that the new generation of learners are endowed with.
Education Research and Practical Nexus
This integrative environment of education and research promotes learning by doing, engagement in deep learning, and above all creates learning to exploration of the vast horizons of knowledge with the joy of knowing beyond conceivable limits of knowledge. In a learning environment that is increasingly becoming technology-integrated and will be driven more and more by AI the new generation learners and scholars must learn to make responsible use of these technologies. AI is going to provide great capabilities of exploring into unknown and that too along the data-driven intelligent pathways that otherwise were so difficult given the complexity of situation and abundance of data and possibilities.
The Challenge of Responsible Use of AI:
With great advancement of science and technology comes great responsibility to use technology empowerment with great care. We need systems in place both within the devices and in operating system of technology gadgets that shall impact human behavior and promote the responsible use of AI to learn.
Quest for Self-Learning and Collaborative Research:
Needless to say that much of the learning in the new age shall be facilitated by self-learning as the interactive feature of smart and intelligent devices and systems today offer great convenience for knowing and learning. It is in this respect too the integration of education with research, the quest to explore and discover offers a great way forward to navigate into the deep and exciting horizons of learning and research.
Challenges of AI-Driven Research:
AI-driven research, while offering immense opportunities for deep learning and research, is often associated with monumental challenges largely rising out of ethical and moral considerations, especially in medical, pharmaceutical and life sciences research. Francis McKay et al (2022) in their well-researched article on “The ethical challenges of artificial intelligence-driven digital pathology’ in the Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research has clearly identified four key ethical issues to be considered when deploying AI infrastructures in pathology, namely, privacy, choice, equity, and trust. The authors have emphasized the need for robust public governance mechanisms in AI-driven digital pathology. The premise for use of AI-driven research in other areas including agriculture and food science will require such a robust public governance mechanism.
Action Plan for Synergy Between Education and Research in a University:
1. Cultivate a Culture of Inquiry:
To create a research-focused academic environment, it is essential to integrate research findings into the curriculum, which will enrich course content, and promote discussions of critical thinking. Additionally, implementing research mentorship programs can pair students with faculty members, providing hands-on experience as well as personalized guidance. Establishing dedicated funding and resources for undergraduate research projects will further support this initiative, and ensure that students have ample opportunities to engage in meaningful research.
2. Foster Interdisciplinary Collaboration:
To Forster interdisciplinary collaboration, establishing cross-disciplinary research centers is the key. These centers can promote collaboration between faculty and students of carious fields, and can encourage innovative approaches to complex problems. Developing interdisciplinary courses that draw from multiple subjects further supports this goal, allowing students to engage with diverse perspectives. Additionally, encouraging faculty members from different departments will create joint research projects that can lead to groundbreaking discoveries and a more integrated academic community.
3. Promote Knowledge Transfer:
Enhancing faculty development is crucial, and this can be achieved by providing training on effective teaching methods, research dissemination, and knowledge transfer. Additionally, establishing technology transfer offices can facilitate the commercialization of research findings, generating revenue for the university. Collaborating with industry partners further supports these efforts by translating research into practical applications and creating job opportunities for graduates.
4. Enhance Research Infrastructure:
Investing in state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment is essential for advancing scientific inquiry and innovation. Securing external funding through grants, contracts, and donations further supports these research initiatives, ensuring that projects are well-resourced. Additionally, providing robust support for data management, analysis, and visualization is crucial, enabling researchers to effectively handle and interpret complex datasets.
5. Recognize and Reward Excellence:
Incorporating research contributions into faculty evaluation criteria ensures that scholarly work is valued and rewarded. Establishing awards and recognition programs for outstanding research achievements further encourages a culture of excellence. Additionally, recognizing student research excellence through prizes and scholarships motivates and supports the next generation of researchers.
6. Measure and Evaluate:
To effectively measure and evaluate the synergy between education and research, it’s essential to develop key performance indicators that track progress and impact. Regular assessments should be conducted to identify areas for improvement, allowing for adjustments to the action plan as needed to ensure continuous enhancement of educational and research outcomes.
By implementing these strategies, universities can create a vibrant and dynamic environment that fosters innovation, creativity, and intellectual growth for both faculty and students.
Let the new age of AI assisted learning and research create both the talent pool as well as enrich knowledge reservoirs beyond conceivable limits of knowledge and empower the global humanity to overcome the monumental challenges and create a bright and blissful future on planet Mother Earth.
Anugyan Sharma is pursuing bioengineering at UC San Diego and Prof. PB Sharma is the Vice Chancellor of Amity University Gurugram and has been the founding Vice Chancellor of DTU Delhi.
