Anna University Vice-Chancellor M.K. Surappa on Sunday said the quality of research publications must improve for Indian universities to find a place in global rankings.
Addressing the valedictory function of the platinum jubilee celebrations of Alagappa College of Technology (A.C. Tech), he said though the volume of research publications had gone up in India, their quality, measured in terms of number of citations, remained a concern. He said even smaller countries like Vietnam and Iran were doing better.
“Around 15 lakh research publications have come out of India in the past 30 years. Only around 50,000 have come from Vietnam. However, Vietnam is better in terms of quality,” he said.
He added that transparent and highest standards of governance and focus on teaching and research were needed to address the problem.
M.M. Sharma, former Director of Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, said to encourage innovation in the country, utmost importance should be given to research in universities. “There is no research as cheap and as productive as those happening in universities,” he said.
“Importantly, there is spiritual freedom to pursue research areas of their interest,” he said.
Family members of philanthropist Alagappa Chettiar, who funded the establishment of A.C. Tech, late A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar, the then Vice-Chancellor of University of Madras, who set up the institution, and other eminent persons who played important an role in the institution’s development, were felicitated.
