Professor Sergius Koku
Professor of Law, Finance and Marketing with the Florida Atlantic University in the United States of America, Paul Sergius Koku has charged Business Schools in the country to go public with their research works and strike the desired chords with industry.
According to Prof Koku, who is now a visiting professor with the Regent University College of Science and Technology, “we must make the public aware of the good things that we are doing by our research.”
He was speaking at a public lecture organised in commemoration of the University’s 10th anniversary on the topic “Business School Research and Needs in Industry: A two-way street or road to nowhere?”
Regent University College of Science and Technology was registered in September 2003 and received accreditation to operate as a tertiary institution in 2004. The institution is an ICT-driven university with a national agenda and global focus.
Management of Regent is poised to make inroads into solar technology and become the hub for the transfer of skills for the production of solar panels.
Quoting from the good book, Prof Koku argued that it was needless to conduct research and keep them from those who must be the beneficiaries.
“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a lamp stand, so those who enter can see the light,” he quoted.
Prof Koku added that “we can do a better job in making the public and industry more aware of what we do.”
He argued that “anyone with good university education should know what universities, in general, are about, and what business school education in particular and research in business schools are intended to accomplish; one with good university education should know the difference between basic research and applied research.”
And one with good university education should also know the difference between a professional school and a non-professional school.
“Mixing these issues makes people more confused about the role of Business Schools and certainly what our research is about,” he pointed out.
According to him, as long as Business Schools continue to be a part of a university or university system research will be required of them, stressing that “as far as I know, “publish or perish” is still the dictum; and it is not likely to be abandoned any time soon.”
President of the Regent University, Professor Nicholas Nsowah-Nuamah described as critical the role of research in business and called on business people, business students and business schools to place greater premium on research.
