Muganga Urges Universities to Shift Focus from Publications to Societal Problem-Solving

Victoria University Vice Chancellor Lawrence Muganga has sparked a significant discussion within the academic community by questioning the prevailing emphasis on research publications. Muganga argues that universities may have become too focused on counting papers, potentially diverting attention from addressing critical real-world issues.

“To my colleagues in academia, especially the professors. I think the time has come for us to stop counting publications,” Muganga stated. He believes that the current system is doing a disservice to the country and that institutions should instead focus on “building things” and “changing society” by solving identifiable problems.

Muganga stressed that the true measure of success should be the innovations and solutions that directly improve people’s lives, rather than the number of articles published in journals. “What matters is the impact we make, not the number of papers we publish,” he asserted.

This perspective generated responses from academics, including philosopher Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, who questioned if publishing and problem-solving were mutually exclusive. Muganga later clarified that his critique was not of research itself, but of a system that rewards publication as an end goal rather than as a means to innovation and societal transformation.

This exchange touches upon a fundamental question: what is the ultimate purpose of a university? Historically, universities were centres for knowledge preservation, generation, and transmission. The modern research university, influenced by the Humboldtian model, links teaching with original research, with publications serving as a crucial mechanism for scholarly scrutiny and validation.

In recent decades, particularly post-WWII, research output has been increasingly tied to national economic competitiveness and technological advancement. This has led to the pervasive “publish or perish” culture, where academic success is often measured by publication counts, citation indexes, and journal impact factors.

Critics argue this incentivizes quantity over quality, pushing academics towards papers that meet scholarly requirements rather than addressing urgent societal challenges. This is particularly pertinent in developing countries where universities are under pressure to contribute directly to economic development and job creation.

However, others caution against creating a false dichotomy. Jude Ssempebwa, Dean at Makerere University’s East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development, noted that publications are themselves valuable products of universities, providing essential inputs for industries, governments, and businesses. Ideas generated through academic inquiry can influence policy and entrepreneurship without academics needing to leave their labs.

The international trend leans towards broadening assessment criteria beyond publication metrics. Countries like the UK and Australia now incorporate evidence of policy influence, industry collaboration, and social impact into their research assessment frameworks.

For Uganda, this debate arrives as universities face pressure to demonstrate their contribution to national development goals. The challenge lies in balancing the role of universities as custodians of knowledge with the need for them to produce tangible benefits for society, industry, and government.

https://nilepost.co.ug/news/349526/muganga-wants-universities-to-stop-chasing-publications