Research & Development Cell (RDC)

Introduction

As per the mandate of UGC to establish ‘Research & Development Cell in Higher Education Institutions’ under letter No. 5/202 (NEP/Desk-Parl.) dated 8^th June, 2022. The Research Advisory Council (RAC) and Research & Development Cell (RDC) has been created in college. Research, innovation and development are important aspects of enhancing the quality of Higher Education. Our country’s societal challenges can only be addressed by having a strong and vibrant higher education ecosystem with an emphasis on research, innovation, and technology development. The integration of Research, Innovation and Technology Development is the foundation of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India).

RDC will enable the attainment of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat’s targets and is expected to play a pivotal role in catalyzing the research culture mandated in NEP-2020. The purpose is to put in place a robust mechanism for developing and strengthening the research ecosystem within colleges, aligned with the provisions of NEP-2020.

Objectives

1. To create an organisational structure with role-based functions of RDC, formulate a Research Policy for the HEIs, identify thrust areas of research, and form related cluster groups/ frontline teams/consortia of researchers.
2. To create enabling provisions in Research Policies for recruitment of research personnel, procurement of equipment, and financial management with adequate autonomy to the Principal Investigator(s) and disseminate research outcomes to stakeholders and the public at large.
3. To establish a special purpose vehicle to promote researchers and innovators and identify potential collaborators from industry, research organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders for cooperation and synergistic partnerships.
4. To act as a liaison between researchers and relevant research funding agencies, extend guidance in preparing and submitting project proposals and post-sanctioning of the grants to oversee adherence to timelines.
5. To have better coordination among other cells/centres dealing with University-Industry Inter Linkage, Incubation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
6. To develop an Institutional Research Information System for sharing the status of ongoing/ completed research projects/Programmes, expertise and resources, etc., making effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for preparing the database of in-house experts to provide industrial consultancy and services.
7. To engage and utilize the services of superannuated active faculty/scientists in research capacity building of talented young minds and promote mobility of researchers across institutions and R&D Labs.
8. To serve as nodal canter for ideation and conceptualization of research topics/themes by organizing workshops and training programs and ensuring the integrity and ethical practices in research activities, including clearance of bioethical committee wherever required.

Structure

1. The Research Governance will have a Research Advisory Council (RAC) headed by the
   Principal as the apex body of RDC.
2. The principal will nominate the Director-Research & Development Cell (RDC) among the distinguished researchers from the college. The Director-RDC will head various committees to drive the governance.
3. The Research & Development Cell (RDC) may form multiple committees to smoothen its functioning with respective committee members nominated by the Director-RDC and approved by RAC.

The organisational structure of RDC comprising of various committees for specified functions may be as follows: 

Composition of Research & Development Cell (RDC)

The Composition of the Research & Development Cell (RDC) is as follows;

 Conclusion

The RDC would help create a research ecosystem for reliable, impactful, and sustained research output. The essential elements of such an ecosystem, viz., generation of knowledge and facilitation of research, innovation and technology development for industrial and societal benefits, are addressed by human resource (researcher & faculty), intellectual capital (knowledge & skills), governance (regulation & policies) and financial resources (funding & grants).