Research Strategy

Main Objectives

Key Initiatives

[1] Nurture and promote a culture of research and scholarly activities across all disciplines at faculty, and student levels.

• DRG is committed to supporting and fostering the growth of research within the University through its AU funded internal research grants program. The Internal Research Grants and Multidisciplinary Research Grants provide opportunities for faculty members to develop their research projects and initiatives. University is encouraging multidisciplinary research grants by supporting large scale and higher budget projects in the university. These grants aim to enhance the research productivity and quality of work within the University and create opportunities for collaboration with international universities and research institutions.

• The Research Travel Grant (RTG) initiative offered by the DRG serves as a platform for faculty members to access research resources and facilities not available at AU. This initiative aligns with AU's Strategic Goal #2 of Enhancing Research Quality and Impact by enabling faculty to conduct collaborative research, establish and nurture partnerships with top-ranked international universities and institutes, and increase the likelihood of submitting proposals for external research grants. The RTG initiative aims to promote research productivity at AU and support the development of high-quality, peer-reviewed publications. The grant enables faculty members to travel to partner institutions and use their research facilities and resources, which in turn leads to the establishment of collaborative research projects and a strengthened network with international partners.

• The Research Release Time (RRT) initiative at AU through the DRG is aimed at fostering a supportive research environment for its faculty. This initiative aims to increase research productivity and scholarly outputs by providing an opportunity for AU faculty to produce more research outputs that contribute to the mission and vision of the university.

• The University is also rewarding faculty members who publish scholarly papers in top indexed journals, with international collaborators and received significant number of citations. This reward system aims to encourage and recognize faculty members who publish in high quality journals and engage in high-impact research collaborations with international partners.

• The Graduate Assistantship initiative aims to recruit outstanding graduate students in the graduate programs and to support the growth and development of graduate programs in the university. By offering financial support and opportunities for research and professional development, the initiative seeks to increase enrollment in graduate programs at AU and to produce graduates who are well-informed, creative, and highly skilled.

• The Visiting Research Scholar (VRS) Initiative at AU aims to enhance the university's intellectual and research endeavors by attracting exceptional research scholars from around the world. This initiative provides a platform for the university to establish meaningful connections with top-class international researchers and to foster collaborations for joint research projects.

• DRG is promoting research and scholarly activities by supporting faculty publications in open access journals. The goal of this initiative is to increase the visibility, impact, and citations of the research published by AU researchers by making it freely available online.

[2] Increase external research partnerships and funding and to establish concentrations of researchers and resources, to develop key research areas of national and international importance in the university.

• One of the objectives of the research strategy is to increase external research partnerships and funding. The University recognizes the importance of building strong partnerships with external organizations to promote collaboration and advance research and innovation. To achieve this goal, the University has developed a policy and set of procedures for securing external grants and providing faculty with all the opportunities to target external research grants. The University also established Office of International Academic Affairs (OIAA) that support all academic colleges to establish international academic partnerships, assess their effectiveness and monitor progress and outcomes of such partnerships. The University provides support to faculty members and researchers in securing external grants and to identify potential partners, and provide necessary training and mentorship to help them prepare competitive grant proposals.The University also provides incentives to faculty members who secure external research grants.

• The DRG is committed to advancing cutting-edge research that addresses pressing global challenges and promotes a culture of academic excellence and identify and develop areas of national and international significance in the university. To achieve this DRG has established several key initiatives, one of which is the establishment of AU Research Centres. These centres are designed to bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange. The objectives of these centres are clear and far-reaching. By identifying and establishing concentrations of researchers and resources, AU aims to develop key research areas of national and international importance, aligning research outputs and efforts of faculty in a focused direction. Additionally, these centres are expected to encourage the pursuit of research excellence in key areas, and boost research productivity at the university.

[3] Improve the research infrastructure and resources at AU to promote research across all disciplines.

• The DRG is committed to supporting and fostering the growth of research and research infrastructure within the University through its research centres and internal funding programs. AU research centres are instrumental in developing research labs within the university. The internal research grants including multidisciplinary research grants provide opportunities for faculty members to develop their research projects and initiatives. These grants aim to enhance the research productivity and quality of work within the University and create opportunities for collaboration with international universities and research institutions.

• Ajman University recognizes that sufficient research budget allocation is crucial to support high-quality research. The University is committed to providing adequate funding to support research, and this budget is used according to well-defined policies and procedures. The budget is allocated based on the guidelines set by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) and is determined through an inclusive and intensive internal process every academic year at the University. The DRG ensures that sufficient budget is allocated for all research-related initiatives.The budget allocated for research and graduate studies is designed to support a wide range of initiatives, including funding for research projects, conference attendance, publication fees, teaching release, research equipment, graduate scholarships, to name few. The University also encourages faculty members to seek external funding opportunities to supplement the internal funding provided by the University.The budget allocation process is conducted in a transparent and accountable manner, and is designed to ensure that funding is allocated to the most promising research projects and initiatives that align with the University's strategic goals. The budget allocation process is also designed to ensure that the University's funding resources are used efficiently and effectively to achieve the best possible outcomes.

[4] Recruit outstanding graduate students through scholarships

• The Graduate Assistantship initiative aims to recruit outstanding graduate students in the graduate programs and to support the growth and development of graduate programs. By offering financial support and opportunities for research and professional development, the initiative seeks to increase enrollment in graduate programs at AU and to produce graduates who are well-informed, creative, and highly skilled. The objectives of this initiative are twofold: to increase the research outputs of AU and, to provide support to graduate faculty in their research.

• The importance of the Graduate Assistantship initiative to the Deanship of Research and Graduate Studies is significant, as it helps to promote the university's graduate programs and attract talented students who are interested in pursuing advanced degrees. Furthermore, by providing support to graduate faculty in their research, the initiative helps to enhance the quality and impact of the university's research endeavors.

[5] Provide incentives for faculty members to conduct high-quality and high-impact research

• DRG introduced research reward program, that is designed to recognize, reward and provide incentives for the efforts of faculty and researchers at Ajman University who are making significant contributions to academic research. The objectives of this program are to increase the number and quality of AU SCOPUS-indexed papers in leading international journals, to motivate and encourage faculty and researchers to be actively involved in the university's research vision and mission, to promote collaborative research with international partners, and to raise the visibility of research outcomes and increase citations.

• Ajman University recognizes the importance of external funds and provide incentives to its faculty members and researchers in their pursuit of external research funding as per university approved policies and procedures.

• The university also provide support to faculty members by providing research travel grants, attending and presenting papers in conferences and contributing in other expenses such as registration fees for conferences, publication fee for high quality journal papers, etc.

[6] Promote principles of sustainability and nurture a culture of the shared responsibility of mankind to preserve planet Earth for future generations

• At Ajman University, promoting principles of sustainability and nurturing a culture of shared responsibility towards preserving the planet for future generations is a key component of AU research strategy. The University recognizes the importance of sustainability and is committed to promoting sustainable practices and behaviors in all its activities.One of the ways the University is promoting sustainability is through the Healthy and Sustainable Building Research Centre (HSBRC). The HSBRC is dedicated to providing high-quality research and studies on how sustainable design, construction, and operations of buildings contribute to the health and wellbeing of occupants. The HSBRC is committed to exploring innovative solutions for creating sustainable and healthy environments that improve the quality of life for people while minimizing the impact on the environment.The HSBRC conducts research on a wide range of topics related to sustainable building practices, including energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and indoor air quality.