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Enacting a developmental niche for researchers: Lessons from research education initiatives in India and Malaysia

D. P. Dash (Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Kuching, Malaysia and Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India)

International Journal for Researcher Development

ISSN: 2048-8696

Article publication date: 9 November 2015

1014

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a provisional framework for researcher development in contexts where postgraduate research education is developing.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a reflective essay. The author draws out lessons from his research education initiatives in India and Malaysia spread over a decade (2003-2013). The lessons are based on favourable and unfavourable processes which affected those initiatives. The processes are then synthesised in two stages, to arrive at a provisional framework.

Findings

The framework is presented as a cyclical process blending five focal themes: identity, connections, network, skills and roles. Implementing such a process would require sustained institutional collaboration and a supportive policy environment.

Research limitations/implications

Given the limited experiential basis of this reflective exercise, the framework should be considered provisional in nature. There is a need to discuss and assess the framework in other contexts.

Social implications

Countries such as India and Malaysia have set ambitious targets for doctoral completion. Well-endowed scholarships have been put in place. However, doctoral programmes are still not yet widely popular. A need exists to direct policy debates towards the kinds of researchers needed and how to develop those kinds of researchers.

Originality/value

The paper presents a first-hand reflective account of the opportunities and constraints of research education in India and Malaysia. The exercise has produced a provisional framework for researcher development that could be adapted and assessed in other contexts.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author offers his sincere thanks to the two institutions, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India (now associated with Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, India), and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Malaysia, which supported the research education initiatives discussed in this article. Thanks are also due to the large number of students and volunteers from India, Malaysia and other countries, who were, and still are, involved in these initiatives. A preliminary version of this article was presented at the Swinburne Research Supervision Conference, held at Melbourne, Australia, during September 12-13, 2013. The author gratefully acknowledges the constructive comments from the anonymous reviewers.

Citation

Dash, D.P. (2015), "Enacting a developmental niche for researchers: Lessons from research education initiatives in India and Malaysia", International Journal for Researcher Development, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 144-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRD-08-2014-0022

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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