Ministry calls for research archive to house graduates’ theses
Ministry calls for research archive to house graduates’ theses
The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS) has announced a request for higher education institutions in Cambodia and Cambodian alumni who have studied abroad to contribute their master’s and doctoral theses for inclusion in the ministry’s research and innovation department.
In its announcement on Sunday, the ministry emphasised the necessity of this initiative to establish a research archive, a resource collection aimed at supporting studies and research in Cambodia.
The ministry expressed hope that “all higher education institutions in Cambodia and students who have completed their studies abroad will collaborate to help the ministry compile a diverse and comprehensive research archive to support academic studies and research in Cambodia.”
According to the ministry’s spokeswoman, Khuon Vichheka, universities traditionally store undergraduate and postgraduate theses individually. She explained that upon graduation, students’ research papers, including Master’s and doctoral theses, are also submitted to the Ministry of Education in both hard and digital formats.
She added, “Currently, the MoEYS is in the process of creating various platforms to share research resources.”
The request for theses contributions aligns with Prime Minister Hun Manet’s directive from late last year, instructing the ministry to explore the possibility of creating a national research archive.
This initiative aims to preserve the wealth of academic research for future generations.
Mr Hun Manet said, “Many students have written theses, but aside from being stored at their respective universities, there is no centralised location to house these academic works. Therefore, we should establish a standardised facility, a library, or even a national research centre at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) to store and consolidate these research papers for future students to access and build upon.”
Mr Hun Manet encouraged students to share their research findings as knowledge for future scholars, even making his own doctoral dissertation publicly accessible for study.
Meak Kamerane, Dean at the Faculty of Science, at the RUPP, noted that Cambodia lacks a system for systematically archiving student research papers. Even the digitisation of such documents remains limited.
He said, “A centralised research archive would greatly facilitate future students’ academic endeavours, as all research builds upon the knowledge of previous scholars.
source ៖ Khmer TImes