Utkal University has a dedicated Research and Development (R&D) cell and Director, R&D acts as a dean of research to look after the overall research activities of the University including MoUs and research collaborations.
Vision & Mission of Research & Development (R & D) Division
Utkal University, being the oldest and mother University of Odisha (established in 1943), envisages to boost quality and interdisciplinary research and inclusive academic growth involving different stakeholders at both organizational and individual level all across the state.
R & D division was established in the University with a vision to facilitate, promote and contribute towards multi-disciplinary research, innovations, collaborations, and generation of scope for extra-mural fundings, quality publications in peer-reviewed journals, patents and product development.
Prof. J. Dandapat, Director,
Research and Development
E-mail: director.rd.uu@gmail.com
The mission of this division is to build up a Dynamic and Multi-disciplinary Research Ecosystem in the University by promoting research of both fundamental and translational potential, with a goal to enrich the scientific community and benefit towards the society. Besides, Utkal University has established a dedicated centre to promote innovative research of translational potential and to support startup and entrepreneurship ventures through Centre for Innovation and Incubation.
The Utkal University has constituted following three different committees to deal all kinds of research related issues in the University.
- Research Advisory Committee (RAC)
- University Research Committee (URC) and
- Departmental Research Committee (DRC)
Research Advisory Committee (RAC):
Research Advisory Committee (RAC) comprises both internal and external members covering different steams/disciplines with the Vice Chancellor as the Chairperson of the Committee. The primary roles of the Research Advisory Committee is to advice, support and promote the development, implementation, review and dissemination of all research and evaluation activities within the University.
University Research Committee (URC):
URC is the apex research advisory authority chaired by the Vice-chancellor, comprising internal faculty members of different subject and external experts from different research institutes. URC looks after the research policies, outcomes, issues related to research. URC/RAC evaluates the overall research activities of the university and judicious fund distribution for the support of research projects. The primary functions of URC are:
- Evaluating research and administrative policies, procedures and advising project investigators for further improvement.
- Consulting and encouraging new research ideas and promoting them to foster.
- Informing the faculty on the availability of intramural support for research and possibility of extramural funding opportunities.
- Recommending the competent authority to support research projects with intramural seed grants.
- To give decision/recommendation on unresolved issues of Department Research Committee.
Department Research Committee (DRC):
Each postgraduate Department has a DRC, comprising faculty of the Department and external member covering various domains of the subject and Head of Department (HOD) of the respective department as the Chairperson. The DRC is termed for two years. The primary functions of DRC are:
- Reviewing the research proposal, shaping the projects, design and methodology development.
- Scrutinizing the research activities of Ph.D. scholars and postdoctoral fellows on a half-yearly basis.
- Assessing the progress and advising them for further improvement.
- Evaluation and recommendation for Ph.D. registration and thesis submission.
- Communicating with the University Research Committee for the development of infrastructure, equipment and other constrain related to research.
Research Policy
This Research Policy outlines the general framework for the development, promotion, and conduct of research of high quality following the principle of research ethics, and consistent with the mission of Utkal. The primary objectives of this policy are as follows:- Create a conducive environment for a better research ecosystem with action plans to support research activities in the University from time to time.
- Encourage research as an essential aspect of teaching-learning to inculcate research aptitude among the students
- To draw attention towards the priority of local/regional/National interest
- To establish and strengthen the Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) with high-end equipment and central computation facilities.
- To establish different Centres of excellence (CoEs) to promote interdisciplinary research and collaborations with National and International institutions
- To promote the publication of research findings in quality peer-reviewed, journals, books, and book chapters/monographs.
- Patent and/or commercialize innovative products and processes
- Highlight research achievements and activities to improve the University rankings at the National and International level.
- Strengthen the Research and development cell for strategic plans, management, and monitoring of research programmes and performance.
- Encourage the Department/schools and faculty members to generate funds through sponsored projects.
- Provide an ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Provide support for consultancy, collaboration, and outreach (Extension) activities to enhance the research culture.
- Integrate support for both fundamental and translational research for the generation of new knowledge and product.
- Promoting good practices and ensuring ethics in data acquisition, storage, and management and upholding the highest standard of ethical conduct in research.
- Appreciation / incentives to the researchers/ faculty members of the University for publishing articles in peer reviewed journals of international repute and books from reputed publishers; filing/publication of patents and development of products; receiving research grants and other research related achievements. Read More
Institutional Ethical Committee
The studies involving the use of animal models are followed according to the national guidelines framed by “The Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA),” Govt. of India. Thereby, Utkal University has constituted an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) registered with CPCSEA (Reg. No. 192/GO/Re/S/2000/CPCSEA). The primary duty of IAEC is:
- To review and approve animals required for experimental usage.The committee monitors judicial usage, ethical handling and healthy maintenance of the experimental animals during the study. Further, all the project proposals are screened experiment wise to determine the number of allotments. Every faculty provides updates regarding the usage and data generated from the previous allotment before the committee on half yearly basis.
- IAEC of Utkal University comprises 5 members and 4 nominees which are nominated by CPCSEA. The chairperson and member secretary of the committee are nominated by the institute from the existing members. The term of appointment of the committee is for a period of 3 years. The committee meets at regular intervals to review new proposals, requests and existing policies. The committee also regularly monitors the procedures and practices related to animal experiments to ensure that animal welfare and ethics are strictly followed at every point of research. The animal house is inspected in regular intervals by a competent official appointed by the CPCSEA.
Research Projects
Utkal University usually receives financial support from extramural funding agencies for the development of research infrastructure, hiring of skilled human resources in terms of research fellows, project fellows and postdocs. During last five years faculty members from various Departments have received several extramural projects from various government and non-government funding agencies. These include funding from CSIR, UGC, DBT, DST-Govt. of India, ICSSR, DAE, CCRH, ICPR, NCW, RBI, Ministry of Culture-GOI, DST-Govt. of Odisha, OSHEC, NALCO, ONGC, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, Odisha Consumer’s Co-Operative Federation Ltd. Besides these, University has been recognized to receive fundings from MHRD-RUSA and World Bank-OHEPEE for development of Centre of Excellences, Central Instrumentation Facility, civil and laboratory infrastructures and hiring of skilled human resources for quality research.
Publications
Utkal University supports quality research and traditionally publishes research articles in peer-reviewed journals with international repute. During the last five years students, research scholars, and faculty members have published more than 1400 research and review articles in peer-reviewed journals with good impact factor. These includes journals from leading publishing houses like Acta Scientific, Annals, Elsevier, FEBS, Frontiers, Cell press, Nature publishing group, Springer, Taylor & Francis group, Royal Society of Chemistry, The Lancet, Wiley Online Library, American Chemical Society, MDPI, PLoS, etc. Few of our publications have been acknowledged as highly cited papers from India. Besides these, more than 100 book chapters have been published in both national and international publishing houses during this period.
About the IPR
Creativity and innovation are the new drivers of the world economy. Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind.Intellectual property Rights (IPR) plays a dynamic role in enhancing the socio-economic wealth of the country. These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides for the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from authorship of scientific, literary or artistic productions. The importance of intellectual property was first recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). Both treaties are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Collaborations
Utkal University, being one of the oldest Universities of the country, forges several academic and industrial collaborations all across the globe. These collaborations aid in value addition to the academic programmes, research activities and intellectual property generation. The industrial collaborations of the University target sustainable development and fostering entrepreneurship and innovation among students. The faculty members of the University are constantly engaged in collaborative research activities with several National and International research oganizations.
Utkal University has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with several Universities/Institutions/Organizations of both National and International repute. The objectives of these MoUs are academic expansion through research collaboration, cooperation and knowledge sharing. Through these MoUs, the University envision to create opportunities for collaborative research and developmental activities, mutually benefiting academic and training programmes, faculty and student exchange, and joint organization of Conferences/Symposia/Seminars.
List of MoUs of Utkal University with other Universities/Institutions/ Organizations –
| Sl.No | Name of the Organisation with which MoU is signed |
| 1. | BARC and Utkal University |
| 2. | AMD and Utkal University |
| 3. | L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar and Utkal University |
| 4. | Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Goethe University of Germany and Department of Anthropology, Utkal University |
| 5. | Department of Sociology, University of Osnabruck University, Germany and Department of Social Sciences, Utkal University |
| 6. | World Bank Project with Govt. of Odisha and Utkal University |
| 7. | Poverty and Human Development Monitoring Agency (PHDMA) and Utkal University (Odisha Development Fellow) |
| 8. | Scientific cooperation between Dr. Saroj Kumar Sahu (UGC Assistant Professor, PG Dept. of Environmental Science) and Director, IITM |
| 9. | Centre for Innovation and Inclusion, Utkal University and IIMN Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development (In FED) Business Incubator for the Indian Institute of Management, Nagpur |
| 10. | Utkal University and NIELIT and affiliation for IEET courses |
| 11. | Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar and Utkal University |
| 12. | CSIR- Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar and Utkal University |
| 13. | IMGENEX India Pvt. Ltd., Bhubaneswar and Utkal University |
| 14. | Univ. of California, Berkley, USA and Utkal Univ. |
| 15. | Central Institute Of Petrochemicals Engineering &Technology (CIPET), Bhubaneswar |
| 16. | National Human Welfare Board Trust(NHWBT), Bhubaneswar and P.G. Dept of Law Utkal Univ. |
| 17. | Lexican India Legal Service and P.G. Dept of Law, Utkal University |
| 18. | M/S LYFVIBES PRIVATE LIMITED and CII, Utkal University |
| 19. | M/S TNT CTSX Technologies and CII, Utkal University |
Fellowship/Recognition
Doctoral and Post-doctoral research scholars qualifying through different National level competitions have been receiving fellowship to pursue their research. During last 5 years researchers of Utkal University have received more than 200 fellowships from different government funding agencies like CSIR, UGC, ICSSR, DST, UGC, MANF, ICHR, DAE, MoES, ICMR, MHRD-RUSA, OHEPEE, OSHEC, CCRH for research purpose.
Research scholars, Post-doctoral fellows and Faculty members have received more than 100 awards for their research and extracurricular activities from several National and International organizations. All these awards are based on their participation and presentation of their research activities in national and international workshops, conferences, seminars and symposia.
Content Will be Added Soon……….
About Research Conclave:-
The practice of research and innovation has been widely accepted as the most essential component of a developing nation’s repertoire of higher education. While research contributes to creation and application of new knowledge, innovation not only incites deeper understanding, but also parallel thinking regarding value creation out of research. Cross-boundary research at intersection of various disciplines led major scientific and societal breakthroughs. Thus, many of today’s complex problems ranging from poverty to pandemic are addressed using a multidisciplinary approach.
University Research Infrastructure:-
In order to undertake and promote quality research in the University infrastructural and instrumental facilities have been developed in various Departments, Centre of Excellences (CoEs) and a dedicated Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF).
The Departments under science stream are provided with adequate space for research laboratories with basic infrastructure. Required instrumental facilities have been developed in each Department utilizing funds received from different sources. Specific facilities for computational and data science, agricultural, biomedical science and interdisciplinary research involving physical and chemical sciences have also been developed in the campus for research purpose. The University focuses more on interdisciplinary research involving all the related Departments.
Research excellence in Science and Technology of an institution is increasingly dependent on the availability of advanced instrumental facilities and easy accessibility. The idea of establishing a Central Instrumental Facility (CIF) with high-end equipment under one roof saw the light when Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik declared to provide funds to establish a Central Instrumental Facility at Utkal University. A dedicated three-storeyed CIF building was built at a central place in the University campus with the aid of the Government of Odisha.
The vision of the CIF is to provide a central facility with the latest and advanced analytical techniques for cutting-edge research in various areas of science and technology and has set the following objectives:
- To provide facilities for sophisticated analytical instruments to facilitate multidisciplinary research and to cater to the needs of the academic departments of the University.
- To extend the facility to the researchers from other institutes as and when required.
- To provide guidance for the acquisition of data using sophisticated Instruments.
- To organise short-term courses/workshops/training programmes on the use and applications of various analytical techniques for students, research scholars, laboratory assistants and faculty of Utkal University and also from other Laboratories, Universities and Industries.
- To augment the instrumental facility from time to time to establish the centre as a major facility for spectral measurements, molecular and crystal structure determination, and imaging analyses in the eastern region.
For more Click Here