UENR launches research agenda, fund

The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) has launched the University Research Agenda (URA) to facilitate its research activities on current pressing challenges confronting the country, particularly in the area of natural resource and energy.

Additionally, the UENR has established the University Research Fund (URF) to raise resources into the fund from internal and external sources to support research activities in order to achieve the university’s target and sustain its agenda.

The UENR has targeted to raise more than GH¢1million annually into the research fund to sponsor departments and schools to conduct researches on emerging challenges facing the country.

Emerging challenges

The launch of the URA and the URF was aimed at developing the research capacity of staff, increase the university’s research impact on the society and align itself with emerging challenges in the society.

It was organised on the theme; "Nurturing innovative ideas to maximise research performance and impact for sustainable Development" and supported by GLiCO General Insurance and the Forestry Commission.

Transformation

At the launch at Fiapre in the Bono Region, the Vice-Chancellor of the UENR, Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako, said the unveiling of the URA and the URF was aimed at driving the research transformation agenda of the university.

He said the URA was to determine the research direction of the university for the next five years and expressed the hope that it would accelerate the university’s goal of reaching 1,000 scopus publications that would allow UENR to excel in the World University Rankings.     

Multidisciplinary approach

He said those challenges demanded  a multidisciplinary approach, innovative solutions and collaborative efforts from all stakeholders.

“As a university, we are uniquely positioned to contribute to addressing these challenges through our research and innovative activities,” he said.

Prof. Asare-Bediako said the research agenda was to promote innovation through various initiatives such as seed grants, innovation hubs, incubators and technology transfer offices.

Engage communities

He said UENR would establish partnerships with industry, government, and civil society organisations to ensure their research had real-world applications and impacts and encouraged researchers to engage with wider communities to ensure their research was relevant and impactful.

Prof. Asare-Bediako expressed the need for the country to create an environment where researchers and scholars from different disciplines could come together, share ideas and expertise and collaborate on interdisciplinary projects.

Prof. Asare-Bediako, said the launch was a self-innovative agenda to foster a culture of research and innovation, which was imperative to address the most pressing challenges of the times.  

He said UENR believed in research and innovation as key to unlocking the potential of the society and enhance their impact on the world.

Prof. Asare-Bediako explained that it was UENR's responsibility to ensure that it provided supportive and stimulating environment for its researchers and scholars to thrive and achieve their full potential.

Focus

In a speech read for him, the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, said the launch of the agenda was a strategic move that aimed at focusing the university's research activities on its short- to long-term goals, research priorities and activities.

He said the URA would provide direction to the UENR's mission on research, promote collaboration and partnerships with stakeholders and ensure that research was developmentally relevant, aligned with government policies, programmes, priorities and contributed to the achievement of the SDGs.

The Head of the Centre for Grant, Research and Innovation (CeGRI) of the university, Dr Peter Sanful, said the launch was part of the university’s strategic plan to compete in the research landscape.

Writer’s email: biiya.ali@graphic.com.gh