Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR) is increasingly getting richer, with more and more teachers and students contributing to research works in the past few years.
While the number of research works has increased more than five times in the last six years, a student became the third-highest contributor among all teachers and students of the university, which was founded in 2008.
Moreover, two teachers made it to the world's top 2% of science researchers, according to Stanford University and the famous journal Elsevier.
The duo are among the 142 teachers in Bangladesh on the list. They are Dr Abu Reza Md Taufiqul Islam, associate professor and dean of the Faculty of Biology and Geosciences, and Dr Md Kamruzzaman, associate professor of the Physics Department. In terms of Bangladesh, their position is 40th and 89th, respectively, and 708th and 5713th in the international arena.
On the other hand, 40 students have recently received the “National Science and Technology Fellowship (NST)” for research cooperation projects in higher education. Each of them has been given Tk54,000 for research.
However, the teachers and students think that it is necessary to increase the allocation for research at the university to inspire the talents.
The triumphs
A review of the Scopus data dealing with journals, book reviews and conference paper citations shows that the total number of research papers published by BRUR teachers and students stands at 532.
Of those, 29 research papers were published in 2017, 29 in 2018, 49 in 2019, 75 in 2020, 144 in 2021 and 157 in 2022.
Dr Abu Reza of the Department of Disaster Management tops the list by publishing 215 research papers. Dr Md Kamruzzaman of the Physics Department is in the second position with 33 research papers.
On the other hand, Rakaia Islam, a student of the Disaster Management Department, has 29 research papers published.
Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Dr Md Ferdous Rahman has published 26 research papers; Associate Professor of the Statistics Department Dr Md Shahjaman has 23; head of the Finance and Banking Department Dr Md Noor Alam Siddique has 19; Associate Professor of the Statistics Department Dr Md Siddiqur Rahman is in the 7th position with 11 research papers.
Top contributor Dr Abu Reza said the university was progressing steadily in the field of research. “There is no substitute for research to increase the university ranking,” he said, adding that it would benefit the students significantly.
Dr Kamruzzaman of the Physical Department said: "I am encouraging my students to research from the point of view that our students can spread and gain reputation in and outside the country to keep pace with the current era."
Director of BRUR Research Extension Office Dr Tanziul Islam said: “Our teachers are far ahead in research. Along with this, the interest of students in research has also increased. So, the budget should be increased to continue the streak.”
He suggests that the University Grants Commission (UGC) increase budget allocation for research.
Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Hasibur Rasheed said the authorities had given a lot of importance to research in addition to removing session jams.
“We want to make this university a unique institution in quality education and research. Maximum efforts will be made to increase the allocation for research from the next financial year,” he told Dhaka Tribune.