RESEARCH WITH WUNMI: THE SOLUTION PILL

Hello A.C Fam!

Good to be on this platform again to discuss one of the things I’m very passionate about, am I an education/research enthusiast (you ask)? I think I am.

The aim of this post is to highlight one out of the many advantages that research has thus emphasizing the need for better quality research work as students that would hopefully be of great relevance to the government amongst other sectors. Before laying emphasis on research as a solution pill, let’s talk briefly on the utilization of research in past years.

A quick comparism, World Bank data for year 2010-2014 shows that United Kingdom has 4,024 researchers in R&D (per million people) in contrast to 95 researchers Zimbabwe has in R&D. This shows that developed nation maximize research maybe not optimally but at least it’s not under-utilized in contrast to most developing countries which Nigeria is not an exception

Note: population is a great influencing factor of the figure above however the margin between these two countries is very wide nonetheless the industrial growth of each country drives the point home better. Some developing countries like Nigeria has no data on the table (link here: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.SCIE.RD.P6/countries)

Also, UNESCO recognise that high level research and development within a government fuels industrial growth. The figure above include PHD researchers, this highlights importance of research with better quality from student platform.

Not all student got it right the first time, Its ok to have made some mistakes in the past as a student researcher one of the reasons this platform exist is to reduce the occurrence of these mistakes in future. (Expect a post on common mistakes students make in research and how they can be minimised).

‘Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future’ – Swami Sivananda

Looking into the future, I see research birthing solutions to national problems, although not currently maximized. Research as a ‘solution-pill’ is currently not maximized for (I believe) the following reasons;

Most research works carried out by students in Nigeria Universities (especially undergraduates) are ‘dumped’ on the shelf with no further action. Thus affecting the perception and enthusiasm students have towards research. I believe the grass-root of research is at undergraduate level.

P.S I’m more familiar with the Nigerian education system thus indulge me, however, I would like to know whether readers from other countries share same observations.

Ignorance to the solution power research carries. I remember one of my Lecturers during my postgraduate (missed my intro post? Read here) cited an example of the research he conducted to help give advice to top government officials to make relevant decision as it relates to the economy. Is research that essential? OH YES! Most developed nations thrive on the wings of research.

Just recently, I was watching TV and I saw an advert asking viewers to donate to ‘cancer research’ in the UK. Now, can you beat that?! I honestly think we need awareness of research potential. Australia for instance has a Financial Integrity Research Network (FIRN)-a platform for identifying and solving financial problems such as Hedge Funds, Asset Pricing and so on.

Research might not give a precise solution as it were but at least it puts you on the solution path. Take for instance the Ebola outbreak, various research was carried out in the US to identify the cause and the cure (solution-pill). Yes the result of the various research wasn’t a precise solution however it gave a solution path which with further developments can be precise.

I see research solving private/public financial challenges across the globe not just medical (clinical) issues. Do you?

What problem has research solved you ask?

Financial Management Problems: According to Financial Engineering Research at McCormick http://www.fe.mccormick.northwestern.edu/research.html in this link are lists of financial engineering problems solved by renowned researchers. For instance, ‘Prof Mehrotra developed stochastic nonlinear models and algorithms for asset-liability management problems’.
Algebra Learning Problem: According to Press Trust of India (05/05/2014), researchers establish that there is a computer system that provides automatic solutions to ‘beginners’ problems encountered at algebra classes. This for instance is so cool! Growing up an area of struggle in mathematics was algebra.
Social Media Insecurity: Did you know that some researchers in June 2014 solved ‘a big security problem with android apps on google play’? Here’s the link for further read http://www.businessinsider.com/android-apps-give-away-secret-keys-2014-6

I encourage students out there to engage in research when opportune to, it’s an amazing platform that has solution potentials asides knowledge potentials.

Let’s all put our thinking, critical and analytical caps as I stimulate you on this research journey as we enhance academic excellence.

Till I come your way again,

Stay Winning,

-Wunmi Kayode.

Please leave your comments, suggestions, or questions in the comment box below or mail me at wunmi.kayode@gmail.com

The Education segment of the blog is one where you can find resources as a student/prospective one to help you succeed academically. Periodic posts would be published ranging from advice to questions and resources, all of which readily available to help you. I wish you all the best in your academic endeavours- Tosin Alabi( editor)