Karnataka - Bangalore

To enthuse students to take up research

Bangalore: Consider this: though the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences has had a Ph.D programme in dentistry for close to a decade now, not a single student has passed out with a doctorate in this discipline so far.

This underlines the lack of enthusiasm among the medical students for research. A two-day national workshop is being conducted in Bangalore from Wednesday to focus on this problem and get students interested in the area of medical research.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Tuesday, C.V. Mohan, former professor of Bangalore Institute of Dental Sciences, cited the state of the dentistry Ph.D programme as an instance of students’ lack of interest towards research.

While there is a dearth of independent research conducted with support from government and universities in India, the only research going on is promoted by multi-national companies which manufacture specific products and drugs, Dr. Mohan said. He added that hospitals such as Victoria Hospital, which have a vast body of clinical material, should have research wings attached.

He pointed out that while there are no incentives for students to take up research and professors to guide them, conditions on enrolment make research even less attractive.

Mubeen, chairperson of the organising committee of the workshop, stressed the need for integrated, multi-centric studies. The workshop, she added, will have researchers and doctors of international repute participating, including representatives from other commonwealth countries.

The workshop, being organised by the Indian Academy of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Indian Institute of Science and Indian Medical Association, will be inaugurated at J.N. Tata Auditorium at 9 a.m. by Secretary for Medical Education, M.R. Shankaralinge Gowda.

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