About us

Vision:

To be a professional, developmental and service-orientated research and innovation support structure that adds value to the research experience of the UNIZULU research community.

Mission

To provide strategic direction and quality research support towards realising UNIZULU’s potential to become a leading comprehensive university;
To foster a dynamic, innovative and diversified environment that promotes and supports scholarship among staff and student researchers in a bid to attract dynamic researchers to UNIZULU;
To promote an institutional research culture based on ethical research practices that maximises success in research and innovation;
To develop a future generation of researchers through innovative training and mentoring programmes; and
To offer client-orientated research administration services comparable with best practice.

About the Research & Innovation Office

The aim of the Research and Innovation Office is to enrich the institutional research environment, in creating awareness of research policies and other developments and in guiding institutional and research community responses to such developments.

The objectives:

Provide a suitable environment for conducting research;
Promote research and research excellence;
Improve research capacity among staff and postgraduate students;
Facilitate and administer research funding applications;
Monitor compliance with policies with a view to maintaining highest quality and ethical standards;
Promote a quality educational experience for postgraduate students; and
Assist in commercialising the products of research where appropriate.
Establish and promote the scholarship of engagement, Ethical engagement to underpin social justice principles

Objective

provide strategic direction and quality research support towards realising UNIZULU’s potential to become a leading comprehensive university.
foster a dynamic, innovative, and diversified environment that promotes and supports scholarship among staff and student researchers that will attract dynamic researchers to UNIZULU.
promote an institutional research culture, based on ethical research practices, that maximises success in research and innovation.
develop future generation of researchers through innovative training and mentoring programmes.
offer client-orientated research administration services comparable with best practice.

Our Promise

PROVIDE a sound and supportive research infrastructure that will minimise the administrative burden on researchers and maximise the effective deployment of funds;
HELP researchers by improving our administration services and by meeting challenges through innovative team effort and creative problem-solving processes;
ASSESS policies and trends in research; institutionally and elsewhere, in order to advance and achieve institutional objectives;
MAINTAIN the highest service-delivery standards championed by the research administration profession; and
PROMOTE initiatives for public and private research and innovation partnerships.

Leadership and Strategic Direction

The Research and Innovation Office recognises its role in enriching the institutional research environment, in creating awareness of research policies and other developments and in guiding institutional and research community responses to such developments. In this regard, the office will:

Champion excellence in respect of scholarship, the conducting of research and the provision of postgraduate supervision services in line with best practice;
Assist existing and future generations of researchers to achieve their full potential and promote initiatives that advance research and innovation skills at all levels; and
Encourage and recognise research and innovation achievements and successes.

Integrity

The Research and Innovation Office is committed to ensuring that research and research administration are conducted with integrity and in a manner that protects the rights and interests of all participants. In this regard, the office will:

Promote a culture of ethical conduct throughout UNIZULU which upholds the underlying values of human dignity, equality, non-discrimination, social justice and fairness
Strive to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards and, specifically, act with objectivity, honesty and openness in providing its services.

Services

The Research and Innovation Office acknowledges that in order to provide professional services, it is required, among other things, to set up effective administrative support systems and to respond to requests for its services in a timely, effective, thorough and courteous manner. In this regard, the office will:

Establish and maintain appropriate administrative support systems and processes that will reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and delays;
Provide its services to the best of its ability;
Communicate with the research community on a regular basis and provide information in a timely and effective manner; and
Maintain professional standards of behaviour.

Development and collaboration

The Research and Innovation Office promotes developmental and collaborative research and research-support initiatives, within and outside the academic community, at institutional, provincial, national and international levels. In this regard, the office will:

Support trans-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research efforts;
Strive towards the formation of new trans-disciplinary and multidisciplinary centres of excellence;
Promote collaborations within and across faculties, as well as collaborations external to the University involving academic institutions, governments, non-governmental organisations and business entities nationally and internationally; and
foster and build new networks for research, innovation and funding.