10.1 Brief Statement

SRMIST is committed to the pursuit of excellence in research, leading the national agenda across Science and Technology, Humanities and Social Responsibilities, supporting both applied and basic research with long-term impact. This document outlines the principles for planning, conducting, recording, reporting, and applying research results.

10.2 Objectives

Provide excellent research culture and infrastructure.
Create a culture for inter-/multi-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Publish in high-quality journals, file patents, and transfer technologies to industry.
Create quality human resources for scientific research.
Promote research collaborations with mutually beneficial industrial R&D projects.
Aim to stand among top-notch global universities.
Promote globalization of research and education.

10.3 Academic Research Guidelines

SRMIST has its own Ph.D. Regulations (UGC-compliant) covering registration through degree award.
A University Research Council (5–8 eminent Scientists/Professors/Industrialists plus VC, Pro-VCs, Registrar, COE, Director Research, HoDs) governs R&D issues and Ph.D. regulation updates.
UG/PG students carry out research as part of curriculum; Ph.D. scholars get fellowships for up to 3 years.
Faculty incentivized for indexed-journal publications, patents, and externally funded projects.

10.4 Patent Policy

An IPR policy protects intellectual work and research outcomes for practical/economic application.

10.5 Sponsored Research

Supported by external funding bodies (government, industrial collaborations, consultancy, joint ventures).

10.6 Recruitment of JRFs for Sponsored Projects

Advertisement released; candidates shortlisted; interviews conducted with MoM (including non-selected shortlist).
Expert committee constituted by the PI.
Selected student joins within 2 weeks (late-joining permission from PI otherwise).
If a JRF leaves within 6 months, waitlist candidates may be called; after 6 months, procedure restarts.
JRFs encouraged to register for Ph.D. after PI's permission.

10.7 Consultancy Projects in Research Area

A consultancy project is contract work where outputs belong to the sponsor.
Payments routed through the Institute; fee split 30% SRMIST / 70% PI/Co-PI.
PI must not compromise teaching/research responsibilities and submits a yearly report to the Dean.
Proposal prepared by PI specifying fund breakdown, fee, budget (project cost X + 25% overheads + taxes).
Foreign-currency funds follow Government of India norms; equipment disposition specified in sanction letter/MoU.

10.8 International Project

Collaboration must conform to laws of both countries/international law.
MoU/agreement required; deviations approved by Vice-Chancellor/Registrar in consultation with Director/Dean.
IPR preferably jointly shared between SRMIST and funding agency.
MoU sent to Institute Head for approval with a summary note file; Registrar discusses with PI/HOD/Dean/Director before approval.
Projects headed by PI (possibly Co-PIs/administrative PI); final report and completion certificate required to close the project account.
Office of R&D liaises between Institute and Industry/Government Bodies.
Short-term hiring of research assistants for consultancy is the PI's responsibility (Institute not financially responsible).
Travel for PI/staff on project work treated as on-duty with Dean/Director permission.

10.9 Responsibilities of PI/Co-PI After Receiving Funds

Strict adherence to funding agency guidelines and approved proposal objectives.
A new joint savings account must be opened for the project.
Non-recurring funds used only for sanctioned instruments; unspent amounts returned; DSIR certificate approval needed for tax reduction on instrument purchase.
Recurring charges (manpower, consumables, travel, contingency, overheads) per funding agency norms; overheads credited to SRMIST.
Proper financial registry maintained with PI signatures.
Annual Utilization Certificate (UC), Statement of Expenditure (SoE), and project report submitted and uploaded to PFMS/EAT Module, certified by internal auditor/CA.
Documents to maintain for Industrial Projects: Terms & conditions approval, Interim reports, Completion report. Extensions require no additional financial support.
Lab instruments >2 Lakh handed to the department on project completion (PI's work may get priority); instruments bought from project funds are the funding agency's property (institution/disposal at their discretion).

10.10 In Case of Departure of PI

PI may transfer the project to a new institution with funding agency approval.
If near completion, the Co-PI manages the project to completion.

10.11 Projects with Industrial Collaboration

MoU required, detailing publications, expenditures, manpower cost, property rights, royalties, etc.
Mutual visits encouraged; each organization bears its own local expenses and pays its own employees' salaries; industrial experts giving lectures receive SRMIST remuneration; industry similarly supports SRMIST faculty stays.

10.12 Joint Projects Under Two Institutions

MoU required detailing shared deliverables/expenditures/manpower/property rights/royalties.
All activities must adhere to both organizations' norms and approved proposal objectives.

10.13 Promotion of Research Activity

Faculty/Student Abroad Programmes for 3–6 month stints abroad.
Visiting Professorship programme (expenses covered by SRMIST).
International experts invited via schemes like VAJRA (SERB).
National/International conferences supported with a yearly event budget.
Research Day (Science Day) held annually since 2012 with gold/silver medal awards.
Workshops, Open Day, industrial visits, Funds for Young Researcher, DPRC colloquiums for Ph.D. students (3000+).
Research fellowships up to 3 years; additional fellowship for GATE/CSIR-UGC qualified candidates.
Double Degree Programmes (DDP) with international institutions leading to dual Ph.D. degrees.
Special awards for best researcher/publications/SPARC projects/consultancy during Research Day.
Societal-application research (e.g., Unnat Bharat Abhiyan) encouraged.

10.14 Shared-Academia Industry Position

Faculty may simultaneously hold industry positions for applied research.
Outcomes (patents, IPR, products, publications) credited to both SRMIST and industry per shared expenses.
SRMIST pays full/basic salary based on involvement; industry experts get honorarium at par with IIT scientists/Professors.

10.15 Industry Sponsored Lab

Examples: BOSCH Testing lab, WABCO IOT lab, Hyundai lab, Bentley computer lab, Ford lab, RADMIC lab, ZOLLER tool management lab, NEC Japan facility, Hydrogen Energy Research Center (with Integral Coach Factory), Jal-Janak, etc.

10.16 Institute Research Grant

In-house seed grants via Selective Excellence Research Initiative Programme (SERIP) for proof-of-concept work.
Incubation Centre supports entrepreneurial startups.

10.17 Instrumentation Facilities

Central Research Facilities unify instruments across departments under one portal.
State-of-the-art facilities: HPCC, HR-TEM, XPS, NMR, FESEM, RAMAN, Medical Simulation Centre, Next-Gen Sequencing, etc.
Major facilities: XRD, Photo Luminescence, Electrochemical workstation, Seebeck measurement, thermal conductivity, UV-VIS-NIR, 3D printing, Sanger sequencer, Live Animal Imaging, Micropulse LIDAR, etc.
Single portal (srmonline.net) covers SCIF, NRC and SRM-DBT, with direct booking.
Indo-Foreign mutual visits: SRMIST bears local accommodation costs for visiting foreign students/faculty.
Fabrication Lab (FAB LAB): advanced digital fabrication infrastructure; faculty/students may incubate startups there for up to 3 years.

10.18 Planning the Research

Clear, dated documentation of rationale and modifications (lab notebooks/project files).
Adherence to safety and ethical standards; secure necessary approvals.
Assess resource needs and economize use (e.g., consumables sized to sample needs).
Regular progress review to update the project plan.

10.19 Conducting the Research

Familiarity with legal/ethical requirements for human/animal subjects and personal information.
Equipment must be suitable, calibrated, and serviced regularly.
SOPs maintained for each piece of equipment, including emergency shutdown instructions, in simple accessible language.
Ownership/use of data and results clarified at project outset; storage/disposal responsibilities documented in collaboration agreements.
Clear, accurate records of procedures, approvals, interim and final results retained (useful for IP ownership evidence).
Data stored for complete retrospective audit; original + enhanced data both retained; confidentiality maintained for commercial potential.
Primary data retained within the institute; departing researchers need Registrar permission (via team leader/HoD) to retain data personally.
Raw data recorded in indexed, permanently bound/numbered notebooks or electronic notebooks; supervisors periodically "sign off" on notebooks; computer data backed up regularly with software versions retained.

10.20 Openness

Researchers protect their own IPR but are encouraged to be open in discussing work.
Post-publication, relevant data/materials made available to other researchers on request, subject to ethical approvals/IPR.
Publication delay to protect IPR should be minimal, normally not more than 3 months.
Caution discussing unpublished/unreviewed work; confidential info exchange by email discouraged, especially pre-patent-application.

10.21 Professional Guidance and Legislation

Researchers should observe published standards from scientific/learned societies and be aware of legal requirements (health & safety, data protection).

10.22 Leadership and Cooperation

Heads/senior colleagues foster mutual cooperation and open exchange of ideas.

10.23 Supervision

Research supervisors trained in supervisory skills oversee all research stages (hypothesis, grant applications, protocol design, data recording/analysis).

10.24 Training

Periodic courses on: research design; regulatory/ethics approvals; equipment use; record keeping; data protection; IP management; use of regulated materials (radioisotopes, pathogens, GM organisms); data management; animal experiments; human-subject regulations.

10.25 Primary Data/Samples/Equipment

Data kept securely (paper/electronic) with backups. Changes in sponsored research direction should be reported/discussed with the sponsoring agency before implementation.

10.26 Intellectual Property

Researchers must inform the IP Cell of IP arising from externally funded research, and the sponsor if recommended. Institute research aims at public benefit, though industrially sponsored programs may have commercial gains; commercial benefit may still accrue to inventors, the institute, and sponsors by agreement.

10.27 Dissemination and Publication of Results

Publication encouraged but done responsibly. Sponsors should not discourage publication; sponsors notified in advance of potential publication. Guidelines: a. Notify sponsoring agency in advance. b. Ensure peer review where possible; disclose if placed in public domain pre-review. c. Acknowledge all funding sources. d. Publish in appropriate form (refereed journals). e. All authors must be familiar with and able to identify their contribution; no honorary authorship. f. Acknowledge collaborators/supporters properly. g. Publish as coherent work, not fragmented for quantity (unless demonstrating first discovery). h. Quality over quantity; discourage proliferation of multi-author papers. i. No duplicate publication of the same data. j. Publish corrections promptly for errors. k. Publish retractions promptly for serious doubts. l. Suspected fraud handled per "Misconduct in Research" procedures.

10.28 Integrity

Researchers must maintain high integrity across all research activities (experiment design, data analysis, publishing, reviewing, grant applications), acknowledging contributions of others. Plagiarism, deception, fabrication, falsification are serious offenses warranting disciplinary action. Suspected misconduct should be reported responsibly.

10.29 Conflict of Interest

Researchers must declare/manage real or potential financial and professional conflicts, e.g.:

Existing/potential financial interest in research outcomes.
Personal/private practice benefit dependent on outcomes.
Disproportionate professional/personal gain from the research.

10.30 About Misconduct

10.30.1 Principles

Investigations conducted expeditiously and thoroughly; time limits are maximums.
Respondents informed in writing of allegation details.
Investigation continues even if respondent resigns/leaves.
Disciplinary action against anyone attempting to influence/victimize/intimidate the complainant or witnesses.
Institute protects employees from malicious accusations.
Cooperation required in reviews/assessments/investigations.
Proven misconduct is a serious breach normally leading to dismissal.

10.30.2 What Constitutes Misconduct

Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, deception in research; dangerous/negligent deviations from accepted practice; failure to follow protocols causing risk/harm; facilitating misconduct via collusion/concealment; plans/conspiracy to do the above. Excludes honest error/differences of interpretation.

Fabrication — reporting experiments never conducted.
Falsification — misrepresenting/suppressing data.
Plagiarism — reporting another's data as one's own.
Fraud — willful suppression of prior work to claim originality.
Breach of confidentiality — misusing privileged data/manuscripts as one's own ideas.

10.30.3 Reporting of Cases

Employees must report suspected misconduct to the Director. Uncertain cases may be discussed informally. SRMIST organizes awareness seminars/workshops.

10.30.4 Reporting and Evaluation of Complaint

Investigations kept confidential; flexible, case-by-case procedure. a. Reports made to the Director (Research). b. Informal allegations may be asked to be submitted in writing. c. Complainant identity withheld initially. d. Director (or delegate) assesses credibility/specificity and oversees enquiries. e. Preliminary evaluation (possibly with colleagues/committee); dismissed if no reasonable grounds. f. Dismissal reasons documented (not in subject's confidential file); complainant informed. g. If warranted, full investigation initiated with proper records.

10.30.5 Investigation

a. Respondent informed of allegation. b. Director appoints an investigation committee. c. Committee: Chairman + 2 members (at least 2 outside experts), fully confidential, no press/individual faculty interaction during investigation. d. Scope: accuracy of charge; extent/nature of alleged misconduct. e. Relevance of any other material revealed during investigation.

10.30.6 Process of Enquiry

Committee gets access to grant approvals, reports, primary data, electronic records, manuscripts, lab access, and may interview complainant/respondent/staff. Investigation and report due within 60 days to the Director (Research).

10.30.7 Outcome of Investigation

a. Committee submits report with recommended action within 60 days. b. Respondent gets a copy and 15 days to comment in writing. c. Director examines report + comments; if guilty, forwards records to Registrar for action, entered in personal file/service book. d. Individual may appeal to the Appellate Authority within 30 days.

10.30.8 Safeguard Against False Allegations

If a complaint is found false and made with malafide intent, the Director formulates appropriate action against the complainant.

Research Policy