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Centre for Research and Development
Research and development is the backbone of
university and institutions of higher learning where
knowledge is not only transferred but consistently
generated, ideas are evolved, hypotheses are
developed and proved, their applications are
demonstrated and prototypes are built for fabrication
through the industry for the benefits of the
community.
This necessitates the need to establish the
Directorate of Research and Development with the
aim to facilitate and co-ordinate research activities
in
UoG departments, set up Consultancy service (CS)
and Technology Incubation Center (TIC)/Technology
Park, create linkage with other national as well as
international academic institutions, R&D and
industrial organizations. The Directorate's job scope
encompasses the following areas:
Objectives:
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To ensure that high quality research of direct
relevance to our country's needs, pertaining
to both public and private sectors.
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To establish linkages between UoG
Departments/institutes/centers and
industry both in the public and private
sectors and to facilitate contract research
benefit to the UoG and public/private
sectors.
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To assist in obtaining research grants from
the public/private sector and foreign
agencies.
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To generate R&D funds through sponsored
projects and consultancy services for further upgradation of libraries, computing facilities,
laboratories and research facilities at UoG.
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To co-ordinate placement of students at
different stages of their education with
relevant organizations for practical training
and subsequent employment.
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To encourage and activate research
activities in order to upgrade the overall
quality of teaching and learning within UoG.
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To keep the UoG faculty abreast of the latest
developments in their respective areas of
specialization.
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To disseminate research findings through
conferences/seminars and workshops etc.
Future Research and Training Plan
The Centre's agenda for research includes current key
population issues. These include urbanization,
migration, environment, public health and
reproductive behaviour. These initiatives will
provide
an opportunity to students as well as teachers to
sharpen their research skills and dredge up their
knowledge of empirical studies with expertise in data
analysis. Another major research project under
consideration is Socio-demographic Mapping of
Punjab. This survey will be designed with a vision to
establish benchmark indicators on socioeconomic
and demographic conditions of the people of Punjab at
district and provincial levels. Survey findings will
be
helpful in identifying information about the pace of
demographic transition vis-a-vis the developmental
momentum in the stratified districts of Punjab. It
will
further help identify future requirements of labour
force and highlight the dependency ratio in selected
districts of Punjab.
The Centre, by conducting various surveys, will
develop
a substantive database which will be used by faculty,
staff and students for further analysis, preparation
of
theses and dissertations, classroom instruction, and
for planning of programs or development of policies.
Although the database will serve the entire campus,
it
will be most useful for those in social sciences such
as
population sciences, economics, sociology,
psychology, as well as medicine, public health,
education and information science, and public policy.
This Centre is also planning to start short courses
in
the fields of gender studies, reproductive health,
criminology, and demography, quantitative and
qualitative techniques of population data analysis.
Training workshops will also be conducted in data
analysis techniques, presentation of data,
communication skills, teaching methodology and
human resource management.
A research journal titled “Pakistan Journal of Social
Issues” under the chief editorship of Prof. Dr
Muhammad Nizamuddin has been launched. Its first
issue is in the process of printing.
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