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and applicable findings that would help develop the communities they are operating in, an academic said yesterday.
Lupane State University (LSU) acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Maclean Bhala, while officially opening his university’s Open Access Workshop in Bulawayo, said universities the world over were competing for credibility.
He said research and innovation were key drivers of earning a permanent reputation.
This comes amid reports that a majority of research findings from the country’s institutions of higher learning were not being utilised for the betterment of the communities.
Dr Bhala urged universities in the country to join hands in lobbying for free access to sources of information in order improve the quality of their researches.
The Open Access movement began in 2002 as institutions of higher learning the world over called for removal of barriers in access to information to researchers.
The term Open Access refers to free, immediate online access to the results of scholarly research and the right to use those results in new and innovative ways.
“Open Access Week is a vital means of dissemination of information, which is crucial for national development and achieving Millennium Development Goals, given the crucial role that information has. We are advocating for free access to these online resources,” said Dr Bhala.
“The challenge for universities is the issue of international rankings. The main issue, however, is where we want to place ourselves in terms of research and the output of those results. We should aim at gaining international recognition.”
Speaking at the same occasion, the National University of Science and Technology (Nust)’s Intellectual Property officer, Mr Aleck Ncube, concurred with Dr Bhala, saying access to information was the driver of innovation.
He said the call for Open Access was mooted after realising that publishers were having a monopoly in terms of access to research material and that information was being co-modified with the rich countries alone benefiting.
Mr Ncube, however, expressed concern over lack of funding for research initiatives in the country.
He said Nust, for instance, had come up with many research innovations that could be used to enhance development in the country but said such findings were gathering dust because of lack of funding.
“Nust has invented the Nanofilter project for purifying water. This technology can be used by local authorities especially rural district councils and can cut costs of buying treatment chemicals.
“Sadly, there is no venture capital to develop that technology and society is not benefiting from such research findings.”
LSU Dean of Studies Ms Karren Dube said the workshop would help academics to understand what Open Access entails and how they could use it in improving the quality of their work.
The week-long workshop is being attended by senior LSU staff drawn from different academic departments and visiting presenters from stakeholder organisations.
The participants will discuss, among other issues, the establishment of institutional property rights, open access repositories and institutional research strategies.
Online Reporter