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Research Strategy Policy

Policy

1. UD Research Strategy

The UD Research Strategy  stems from UD Mission Statement and Strategic Goals, which states that one of its core mission statements is to “Engage faculty in applied research focused on the economic development preferably of the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region”. In terms of research, the Institutional Strategy states that "the research community (both internal and external to UD) will value the University for: 

  • The research ethos that facilitates intellectual curiosity and scholarly inquiry throughout the University. 

  • The quality of UD’s research output and its leading role in targeted areas of research. 

  • UD’s collaboration in research consortia and partnerships both inside and outside the United Arab Emirates". 

 

Closely aligned to the wider Institutional Strategic Plan, this document will also ensure that the institutional ethos of creativity, relevance, inclusivity and connectedness continue to serve well the teaching, learning, research and societal needs of the country and the region. 

 

2. UD Strategic Plan

The UD Strategic Plan consists of five Goals, with Goal 2 focusing on research. The goals are achieved through two objectives, each of which consists of a set of actions as outlined below in table 1.


Table 1

Research Goal

Objectives

Actions

KPIs

Increase UD Innovative Research

Increase faculty, staff, and student innovative research works, the achievement of national goals, and impact the economy at the national and international levels.

Objective 1

Increase research support and recognition.

  1. Allocate sufficient research budget for publication, conference presentation, and other activities .

  2. Increase research infrastructure and library resources.

  3. Reward faculty and staff with distinguished research output.

KPI 1

Number of scopus indexed papers per full-time faculty per year, in the previous year.


KPI 2

Number of distinguished full-time faculty who published at least 3 scopus indexed papers per year, in the previous year.


KPI 3

Percentage of scopus indexed papers in the previous year that are joint-research with top 200 universities.


KPI 4

External Research fund per faculty.


KPI 5

Number of annual faculty research developed for community or business.


KPI 6

Percentage of annual student projects developed for community or business

Objective 2

Target research and development initiatives that impact the economy in line with national goals.

  1. Form strategic partnerships and funding with institutions, corporations, governmental, and community to develop research and scholarly works that impact the economy and employability and enhance quality of life.

  2. Engage students in developing research projects in areas of interest for the University and the community at large.
 

 

3. Research Expectations


3.1 Research Theme Priorities

Intellectual contributions are guided by UD’s and college’s mission and research strategy, which include an explicit statement emphasizing the commitment to promote community based applied research that contributes primarily to the economic growth and development of  the region. 

Types of Intellectual Contributions:
Intellectual contributions by category include basic, applied and educational/pedagogical research. The distinction between the three types is illustrated below.

  1. Basic Research

Basic research (fundamental, theoretical, or pure research) is research carried out to increase understanding of fundamental principles. Usually, the end results have no direct or immediate commercial benefits, which is to say that basic research can be thought of as arising out of pure curiosity. However, in the long term, it is the basis for many commercial products and applied research. Basic research has as its primary objective the advancement of knowledge and the theoretical understanding of the relations among variables. It is exploratory and often driven by the researcher’s curiosity, interest, and intuition. The terms “basic”, “theoretical”, or “fundamental” indicate that, through theory generation, basic research provides the foundation for further, sometimes applied research.

 

B. Applied Research

Applied research uses existing paradigms and/or theories to address discipline-based practical or professional problems or phenomena. 

 

  C. Educational/Pedagogical Research

Educational research (pedagogical research) is research conducted to investigate behavioral patterns in students, teachers and other participants in schools and other educational institutions. Such research is often conducted by examining work products such as documents and standardized test results. The methods of educational research are derived chiefly from the social sciences, in particular from psychology, and include areas such as assessment, best pedagogical practices, innovative teaching methods, course curriculum design, case studies, and teaching experience. 

3.2 Research Originality

While getting the approval of scholarly papers for review by the university, the faculty member should ensure that the submitted research work does not duplicate the work already done earlier by the author.  

 

3.3 Research Frequency:

All professorial ranked faculty members at UD are expected to produce at least one (1) Scopus journal paper of category I or II and one (1) conference paper an academic year.  

3.3.1 Research Frequency for Dubai Business School:

DBS follows AACSB guidelines for faculty credentialing, and remain in compliance with accreditation standards, including the assignment of faculty to graduate courses, therefore DBS faculty must also adhere to the following:

 

Intellectual Contribution (IC) Classifications:

  • Classification 1 – PRJ publications (Category I & II)

  • Classification 2 – Academic Engagement Activities

  • Classification 3 – Professional Engagement Activities

 

Track A and Track B (reference table B below) represent different combinations of peer-reviewed journal articles, academic engagement activities, and professional engagement activities required for faculty to maintain qualification status.

 

Table A:  Initial Qualification & Faculty Experience 

 

Scholarly Academics (SA)

Practice Academics (PA)

Scholarly Practitioners (SP)

Instructional Practitioners (IP)

Initial Academic Preparation & Professional Experience

Earned Doctorate Degree

Earned Doctorate Degree

Earned Master’s Degree and Significant Professional Experience

Earned Master’s Degree and Significant Professional Experience

Table B: Qualification Status Requirements

 

Scholarly Academics

 

Practice Academics

 

Scholarly Practitioners

 

Instructional Practitioners

IC Classification

1

2

3

 

1

2

3

 

1

2

3

 

1

2

3

Track A

3

2

0

 

2

0

3

 

0

1

2

 

0

0

2

Track B

4

1

0

 

1

0

4

 

1

0

1

 

0

1

1

 

 

Guidelines for determining faculty qualification and research expectations:

 

Maintain Scholarly Academics (SA) Status for Undergraduate, Master’s & PhD Programs:

Track A:

  • Minimum of 3 Classification 1 (2 Category I & 1 Category II) contributions within a typical five-year AACSB review cycle and,

  • Minimum of 2 Academic Engagement Activities within a typical five-year AACSB review cycle.

Track B:

  • Minimum of 4 Classification 1 (3 Category I & 1 Category II) contributions within a typical five-year AACSB review cycle and,

  • Minimum of 1 Academic Engagement Activities within a typical five-year AACSB review cycle.


Maintain Practice Academics (PA) for Undergraduate and Master’s Programs:

Track A:

  • Minimum of 2 Classification 1 contributions within a typical five-year AACSB review cycle and,

  • Minimum of 3 professional engagement activities over a 12-month period academic year.

Track B:

  • Minimum of 1 Category I contribution within typical five-year AACSB review cycle and

  • Minimum of 4 Professional Engagement Activities over a 12-month period academic year.

Maintain Scholarly Practitioners (SP) Status for Undergraduate & Master’s Programs

Track A:

  • Minimum of 1 Academic engagement activity over each a 12-month period academic year period and

  • Minimum of 2 professional engagement activities over a 12-month period academic year.

Track B:

  • Minimum of 1 Classification 1 (Category II) contribution within typical five-year AACSB review cycle and

  • Minimum of 1 professional engagement activity over a 12-month period academic year.

 

Maintain Instructional Practitioners (IP) Status for Undergraduate

Track A:

  • Minimum of 2 professional engagement activities over a 12-month period academic year.

Track B:

  • Minimum of 1 academic engagement activity over a 12-month period academic year and,

  • Minimum of 1 Professional Engagement Activity over a 12-month period academic year.
 
 
4. Research Support Budget
In accordance with the revised research strategy, UD maintains an annual research support fund, ensuring the realization of its updated research goal. The research fund encompasses expenses related to publication, conference participation, and research resources. Refer to policy R4.1 Research Support for more details.

 

5. Awarding of Internal Research Grants
The University provides internal research grants for research projects conducted by full-time faculty members employed by UD. The research grants include seed projects, competitive projects, collaborative research and targeted research that are of interest to the University. For detailed information on internal research grants refer to R4.8 Internal Research Fund Policy.