Universities all over the world are looking for ways to improve their research and academic performance ranking, as well as to build recognition at national and international level.
Hi Eduard, in a perfect world universities/institutions should employ the best and brightest based on their publications, impact and respect from their peers.
Those days are long gone. Today, if you have a grant that pays overhead, you are golden. I know this personally. I had a phase-II SBIR and I was getting offers. When the grant ran out, nobody knew my name.
I know of many MD's that were doing excellent research, but when they were hired by hospitals/universities they were expected to see patients instead of doing research. Seeing patients pays more money to the institution.
I don't know if there is a quick fix for this problem, but what I do know is that the US is losing its hegemony on basic sciences and it is getting worse.
The cardinal objective of any university in the world revolves around teaching, research and community development. Ground breaking researches and their results connote community development and better society for all. The best practice in preserving research in universities is for the universities to earnestly encourage research groups within and outside their operational environment. Besides, the bodies controlling universities should also create enabling environment that will shore up weak universities and refocus them to the above cardinal responsibilities. As the universities realize their cardinal responsibilities and pursue them diligently, the best practices in academic research that are expected in both private and public universities will be sustained, preserved and improved. To achieve this, academic researches as a matter of fact must be financed/sponsored by government, individuals, NGO and private sectors.
Some interesting thoughts and suggestions by Yuri Lazebnik:
Article Are scientists a workforce? – Or, how Dr. Frankenstein made ...
"This often fundemetally changes the way the reaserch is conducted, gearning it to generating data sets acceptable to reviewers, and not to actually solving the probblem. This dualism drives some of us mad, particularly when the sponsors want to know why progress on the problem they have funded is so slow or has not been made. This is really why we have so many unsolved problems despite high levels of investment in accademic reaserch. "
SMBC on the topic:
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2009-08-31
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20090831.gif
Why ignore the elephant in the room?
$$$ is what universities are looking for.
If the choice is between a brilliant scientist with limited grant $$$ and a mediocre scientist with lots of grant $$$, guess who will be on the top of the list for recruitment?
Hi Michael, love the cartoons!
Here is a non-PC discussion in Berlin ca 1945 about science publishing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VRBWLpYCPY
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