DarTU

The Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (DPRIE)

The Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (DPRIE) is a coordination and service directorate aimed at assisting both students and staff of DarTU to do research effectively and efficiently. Its responsibilities include coordination and overseeing students research, coordination of staff research, coordination of innovation and entrepreneurship activities, and coordination of fundraising through writing competitive research proposals.

The main objectives of DPRIE are to:

  1. Establish and implement the research agenda of the College;
  2. Change research culture at DarTU such that research and publications record is improved as well as research and publications are relevant and competitive;
  3. Coordinate and improve the quality of student research at all levels;
  4. Instill innovation and entrepreneurship skills to staff and students of DarTU;
  5. Establish and improve collaboration with other universities, funders, and development partners both locally and internationally; and
  6. Attract funding through writing competitive research proposals.

Functions
DPRIE functions under three broad areas.  Student Research. DPRIE coordinates research done by students, and oversees and ensures competent supervision thereof, at all levels including research reports prepared by undergraduate students usually in the final year of study, and dissertations and theses prepared by Master and PhD candidates.  Research and Publications.  DPRIE coordinates research done by staff members and their publications. This is one of the most important areas of DarTU especially now that we are in the process of re-engineering and re-branding the institution.  Innovation and Entrepreneurship. DPRIE hosts the newly established Innovation and Entrepreneurship Acceleration Facility (IEAF), with a purpose of making higher learning education relevant and beneficial to particularly the young generation.  In addition to the three areas, DPRIE hosts the Research Ethics Committee (REC) which is an independent body established to make sure that research conducted at DarTU by staff and students are ethically sound and acceptable.

1. Postgraduate Studies
Currently, DarTU has two postgraduate programmes namely Master in Business Administration (MBA) offered for two years in the School of Business Studies and Master of Arts in Information Studies (MAIS) offered for 18 months in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Plans are underway to establish Master programmes in the School of Law and Justice and School of Education and Human Development. In addition, DarTU is planning to establish PhD programmes that will also be advertised shortly. Our goal is to have a strong and dynamic Graduate School of choice in the country.

2. Research and Publications
The volume of research and publications at this institution is still low.  But through the five year Rolling Strategic Plan (2020/21–2024/25), the College is making a commitment to change. It is expected that research will be central to the university’s transformation process and ultimate enhancement of its impact and visibility locally as well as internationally.  This will be achieved through capacity building to improve internal capacity for research. Specific areas that will be targeted include competitive research proposal writing, skills on data collection and analysis, publishing, attending local and international conferences, preparing policy briefs, etc.  There are plans to upgrade the College Small Research Grant Fund to finance these activities. Also the Fund will be used as seed money for obtaining lucrative research grants.

3. Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Innovation and Entrepreneurship are key drivers of economic growth and play a major role in development in emerging economies like Tanzania. The ability of graduates to convert their ideas into commercial products or services and start business to address their local market needs promotes self-employment and job creation. The success rate of such businesses or “start-ups” is to a large extent dependent on the entrepreneurial skills of those who start them. DarTU, through IEAF, is planning to provide innovation and entrepreneurship short- and long-term training for students and junior scientists.  The training includes establishment of cross-cutting courses on innovation and entrepreneurship that will be taught to all DarTU students.  Such training and other strategies planned will be used to prepare young people to establish or expand innovative businesses by making use of their areas of expertise.