Central depository can help disseminate knowledge

IN recent years, the number of postgraduate students has steadily increased in higher learning institutions in Malaysia.

According to Higher Education Ministry statistics, in 2021, 87,531 students enrolled in Master’s programmes and 56,144 in PhD programmes at both public and private higher learning institutions.

These figures increased to 90,356 and 62,392 respectively in 2022. This steady rise in postgraduate enrolments paints a promising picture, with 2022 figures marking a 3.3% increase in Master’s and 11.1% in PhD students compared with 2021.

Not having access to related studies at the early stage of their postgrad journey, particularly dissertations (both Master’s and PhD) by previous students, is a problem that practically every postgraduate student in Malaysia faces.

Currently, dissertations are stored as hard copy, along with soft copy, at the respective higher learning institutions from which students graduate.

This not only poses a significant challenge in terms of physical storage space but also limits the accessibility of valuable research to a broader audience of scholars and practitioners.

Imagine a PhD student at Universiti A researching sustainable palm oil production. He/she identifies a highly relevant dissertation on the topic submitted by a student at University B, but it’s only available in hard copy at University B’s library.

Travelling across the country for a single dissertation may not be practical, and inter-library loan options are usually limited. Therefore, this student’s research progress can be hindered due to the lack of a centralised digital repository.

While developed nations like Britain and the United States have harnessed the power of digital repositories like Ethos (with over 50 million downloads annually) and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (with over 15 million entries), Malaysia’s research efforts remain hampered by limited accessibility to existing scholarship.

It is time for us to unlock the immense potential of a centralised repository for dissertations. The platform could not only facilitate the sharing and dissemination of knowledge but also promote a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to research by making it easier for students and researchers from different fields and geographical locations to access a vast array of dissertations and theses – researchers can discover work in related fields that they might not encounter otherwise.

For Malaysia, the establishment of a centralised digital repository of dissertations could involve collaboration among the Higher Education Ministry, higher learning institutions, and technology partners.

This initiative could leverage existing infrastructure and digital platforms, adapting them to meet the specific needs of the Malaysian academic community.

This repository would not only store dissertations but also ensure that they are easily searchable and accessible.

It would represent a commitment to the open dissemination of knowledge, which fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation that could enhance the quality and impact of Malaysian research on the global stage.

DR ALLA BAKSH MOHAMED AYUB KHAN

School of Languages, Literacies & Translation

Universiti Sains Malaysia

CHUAH KEE MAN

Faculty of Education, Language & Communication

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak