RUET pro-VC Akhtar Hossain sets out plans on research quality, industry links and faster results

Professor Dr Md Akhtar Hossain of the civil engineering department has been appointed pro-vice-chancellor of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) after a gap of 12 years. He was given the responsibility for four years through a notification issued on 27 July by the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the education ministry. He is currently also serving as head of the civil engineering department.

After taking charge, pro-VC Professor Dr Md Akhtar Hossain has set out his thoughts and plans on education, research, housing, infrastructure, the teacher shortage and students' academic progress.

On research, he believes RUET's main goal should be ensuring quality rather than quantity. Problems in the country's various sectors must be identified and solved through domestic technology, knowledge and skills, he said, adding that the focus should be on research that has real application and can contribute to national development, not merely on publishing papers.

To that end, an incubation hub has been set up at RUET, he said, where ideas and innovations are being nurtured into workable technology or products. A policy has also been formulated to provide support and incentives encouraging teachers and undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students to engage in research.

He also expressed concern over the trend of easily producing and publishing research papers with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Such a trend can be no substitute for real research, he said; the capacity to go deep and invent something new must be achieved. Producing technology at home instead of importing it would save foreign currency and make technology more accessible and affordable, he said.

To strengthen research ties between universities and industry, the pro-VC proposed making it mandatory for industrial firms to spend a fixed share of their annual profit on research and development. Under his proposal, firms could spend a minimum of 10 to 20 percent of annual profit in this sector, and the money could be used for research in coordination with universities.

Professor Akhtar Hossain said an industrial attachment course runs at RUET to make students fit for the workplace, under which students are sent to various industrial firms. This gives them direct experience of production processes and work environments, he said, adding that students must develop an entrepreneurial mindset rather than depending only on jobs.

He also emphasised 'reverse brain drain' to bring back talented people engaged in higher education and research abroad. Many of the country's talented students work at institutions such as Tesla, NASA and Google after higher studies abroad, he said. Many are not interested in returning for lack of facilities and a favourable environment. If research opportunities alongside job security, proper pay, financial security, social status and family safety could be ensured, talented people would be interested in returning to work at home, he believes.

The pro-VC also said there is a teacher shortage at RUET and the country's other engineering universities. Teacher recruitment is limited by the university's budget and by University Grants Commission (UGC) directives and allocations, he said, and a university cannot recruit teachers at will. Which department needs how many teachers must be raised with the UGC, with more discussion and coordination. Even within the limits, efforts would be made every year to increase teacher recruitment within the allocation, he said.

Professor Akhtar Hossain also stressed reducing delays in publishing examination results and creating opportunities for students to enter working life quickly. After taking over as civil engineering department head, special priority was given to fourth-year students' backlog examinations and publishing the results of the 25 series. Considering job applications, answer-script checking was finished before the holidays. Overall, he expressed the expectation of publishing results within five to six cycles.