University Research Board

Ahmedabad University has established the University Research Board or the URB to support and promote research by faculty, students and staff. The Board promotes research by recommending proposals for internal funding and examining proposals for submission to external sponsoring agencies. The Internal research funds are distributed as seed grants, start-up grants, or University challenge grants. URB also provides financial support to faculty for development of teaching material, participation in international conferences and recommends financial support for organising national and international conferences.

A research policy has been framed to support, encourage, promote, and enable the conduct and dissemination of research by faculty, students and other academic staff.

The main highlights of this policy are:

• Research grants from internal funds : In order to foster a research culture, the University ensures that all the Schools are well equipped in terms of the research infrastructure - laboratories, equipment and other ancillary facilities. In addition, it provides support for faculty research through internally generated funds. Faculty can apply for these funds by submitting project specific or thematic proposals. The internal research funds are distributed as seed grants (upto Rs.2 lakh funding for initiating new projects), start-up grants (upto Rs.25 lakh funding for newly recruited faculty) or University challenge grants  for interdisclipinary projects (upto Rs.25 lakh funding) .The objective of seed grant scheme  is  to use the internal funds for   preliminary research on new/emerging themes   and develop some basic results to enable preparation of detailed proposals for targeting external funding. The start-up grant  is to enable newly recruited faculty to get a quick start on their research. The grant may be used for purchase of equipment, purchase of database, data collection, hiring research staff, etc. The University challenge grant is awarded  to two or more faculty from different disciplines  to  undertake interdisciplinary research that  addresses a complex challenge facing the society.
• Research grants (external) : It is expected that all faculty across different Schools will apply for research grants from external agencies both within the country and abroad as well as from industry. In addition to individual grant proposals, the faculty are strongly encouraged to apply for thematic, collaborative, and institutional level granting opportunities. All applications for external funding need the approval from the University Research Board  prior to submission.
• Teaching Material Development/Innovation Grant: The University also provides internal funds to support innovative teaching material development including case writing or development of innovative pedagogy tool. This grant can be used for hiring case support, travel for case writing, development of teaching software etc.
• Organizing Conferences & Workshops: The University encourages Schools (and areas within each School) to organize conferences and workshops either on a standalone basis or in collaboration with appropriate partner/professional body. If required, the University provides partial funding . 
• Conference Travel Support: The research policy provides for generous support to faculty for presenting papers at reputed academic and research conferences in their respective areas of specialization. The grant covers all related expenses including travel, registration, boarding and lodging and other incidentals.  The total support is limited to Rs 1,50,000 for an international conference  and Rs.35,000 for a domestic conference . Faculty are entitled to one domestic and one international conference grant per academic year.

In addition to the above schemes, every year the University Research Board has a separate budget for the purchase of major research equipment. These funds are allotted by inviting proposals from faculty members for major equipment required in their research. Preference is given for equipment that will be used by more than one School. This will give a further impetus to the research being carried out at Ahmedabad University.

University Grants Office

The Grants Office at the Ahmedabad University was established  in June 2019 to facilitate grant fund raising at different levels. The office provides administrative assistance and guidance in proposal preparation, proposal submission, and oversight of all financial and non-financial aspects of the grants. The general functions of the grants office include:

• Providing timely information on funding opportunities.
• Providing advice on grant schemes, application packages and budgets
• Assisting the faculty  in obtaining the requisite institutional support documents and approvals prior to submission. 
• Supporting the investigators with the administration of projects sponsored by either external agencies or by Ahmedabad University from the start of the project till the completion of the project.
• Maintaining records of all externally and internally sponsored projects. 
• Checking submitted proposals to assure compliance with the University Research Board norms.
• Organizing talks/seminars to promote research at the University.

Ethics Committee

The code of ethics for conducting research by faculty, staff and students was approved in the Academic Council. The University has constituted an interim Ethics Committee. The Committee members are 

Professor Deepak Kunzru, Chairperson
Professor Maya Ratnam, Member
Professor Ashwin Kumar, Member
Professor Ratna Ghosal, Member
Professor Jaina Mehta, Member 
Professor Ekta Sharma, Member 
Professor Rama Ratnam, Member

This committee has been entrusted with the task of preparing a draft of the processes to be followed for certifying that a research proposal does not violate the Code of Ethics of the University and also adheres to the regulations of the Govt. of India, especially for research involving humans, animals and bio-related projects.

Institutional Biosafety Committee

The constitution of Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC) at Ahmedabad University has been approved on Jan 31, 2020.

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC) is an internal regulatory committee created under the guidelines of Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. IBSC reviews all research activities involving biohazardous substances, and has overall responsibility for maintaining the biosafety guidelines within the university. Biohazardous substances includes, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA, RNAi, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), pathogens, human materials and other potentially infectious material. Following the guidelines of IBSC, it is the duty of the primary investigator (PI) to apprise the IBSC about experiments involving biohazardous substances. The PI needs to obtain approval from IBSC prior to conducting similar
experiments within the university premises.