Dear Editor, IGIHE

First I thank you for seeking my opinion on the fall in Global Ranking of National University of Rwanda (NUR).

Foremost, I will explain here are my opinions as what I think could be the reason for the fall in ranking. The fact is that NUR research and research production has gone up compared to last year based on the number of applications to attend conferences, the number of research projects that are ongoing and completed and the number of NUR staff on PhD studies who produce papers as they do their studies.

Looking at the ranking details, NUR has done better in Repository (it comes 42) and in Sub-Saharan Africa (it comes 40). But poorer overall where it comes 77. Meaning that many more North African Universities have improved their performances but mostly their web presence and their publications are in better ranked journals.

For example, 50% of points are obtained from journals that can be captured by a certain search engine. Such journals are highly ranked. Then 30% of points come from ranked journals (but not top-notch journal). And 20% from what the university posts on the website that is related to academics for example lecture notes, facts and figures etc.

Most of African Journals are in the second type of journals or they are not ranked at all. In Rwanda NUR Journals got indexed in the second type of journals in 2010 and KHI journal got indexed in 2011. These are the only two ranked Journals in Rwanda. Now NUR staff in the medical and health areas for example they publish their results in the Rwanda Medical Journal.

It is important for Rwanda to know these findings but the Journal is not ranked meaning that all that huge volume of publications is not captured in the ranking. That journal is not NUR journal but it is forum used by NUR staff quite a lot. Efforts should be made to have all Scientific Journals indexed and ranked. The medical one is just an example.

There are still other publications especially on Rwanda issues such as peace and conflict, where researches and publications are made but end up not being captured because they are in local journals that cannot be captured in the ranking.

NUR does not have control over such Journals but NUR cannot stop its staff to share their research results in such media and reach out to wider publicum. The issue here is that, researchers feel they have to inform the Rwanda public rather than send their papers to outside journals which cannot be accessed by many Rwandans. Efforts needed are that these journals need to be indexed.

NUR has been overtaken by others in publications in higher ranked journals but overall publications have been on an increase. NUR had 126 PhD holders in 2011 and now has 101 (probably 98). They have been appointed to various high positions in the Country or to represent the country abroad.

Most of these were working on Post-Doctoral research and their researches halted. These were expected to produce at least two papers each n top-notch journals meaning about 50 papers.

Secondly, majority of new NUR leaders (Deans, Vice deans, Directors, Deputy Directors and Heads of Departments) are those who were very active researchers just finished their PhD studies. Their productivity in Research has dropped significantly.

The third reason is that the shortened teaching calender has made people stop their research activity and concentrate on marathon teaching. Research projects which could have been completed and papers written and published were stagnant. People have resumed their research this July.

However the major reason in my view is that many staff on PhD studies abroad when they publish their papers with their supervisors they put the addresses of those Universities. They should put the addresses of NUR and Rwanda that is how their work can be counted on us and our country.

Here we loose about 100 papers a year. A policy is needed on this and actually tier study leave contract should contain this. Another needed action is that we need to have every lecturer's list of publications on the website.

This can capture even those publications which are registered in other Universities. Makerere for example jumped40 positions by just doing that. Here NUR management has to be firm on this.

Prof. Dr-Ing. Verdiana Grace MASANJA, Ph.D
National University of Rwanda (NUR)
P.O. Box 117, Butare, Huye, Rwanda,
Mobile Phone: +250788494984
Full Professor of Mathematics
Director, NUR Research Directorate
Coordinator NUR-wide Research, Conusltancy and Graduate Research Degrees 9PhD and MPhil)