Research for Impact:
Transforming the Mauritian Higher Education Ecosystem

🎤 Speech by Prof. R. Mohee

The Strategic Shift: From Publications to Impact

For decades, the academic culture in Mauritius has prioritized the production of papers, book chapters, and webinars. While these contribute to the global knowledge system, they have often failed to address localized challenges.

• 🔻 The "So What?" Challenge: Despite generating hundreds of papers on management, AI, and chemical engineering, critical issues like landfill management and waste recycling remained unresolved for 30 years.
• 📌 Defining Impact: Research for impact is defined across six primary categories in the Mauritian context:
  • Economic: Contributions to economic growth and business.
  • Social Welfare: Improvements in the quality of life and societal well-being.
  • Behavioural: Changes in individual or collective actions.
  • Environmental: Solutions for ecological preservation and resilience.
  • Technological Advancement: Innovations and advancements in tech.
  • Policy and Capacity Building: Influencing governance and developing human capital.
  🧠 knowledge creation remains foundation, but not final goal with public funds.

Institutional Framework and Policy Reform

Legislative Amendments and the MREF

Under the HEC strategic plan and recent legislative amendments (July 2025), the Academic Research Committee was established. This body is tasked with developing and maintaining the Mauritius Research Excellence Framework (MREF). This framework is designed to:

• Promote high-quality, ethical, and impactful research.
• Review research policies and provide guidance on funding priorities.
• Establish indicators of research success that prioritize societal outcomes over mere publication counts.

National Supervision Guidelines

Released in September 2025, the National Guidelines for Supervision of Research address systemic issues — ensuring students are matched with mentors and research projects are rigorously managed from inception.

Research Funding and Capacity Building

159
Funded Projects

₨ 204M
Total Value

43%
Interdisciplinary & inter-institutional

Govt/Taxpayer
Primary Source

Human Capital Development

• 🎓 Current Scholarships: 84 ongoing MPhil, PhD, DBA scholarships
• 🏆 Historical Awards: 225 scholarships awarded to date (97 full-time, 128 part-time)
• 📈 Growth: Full-time scholarship awards from ~2–3 per year → 10 per year

Methodology: Result-Based Management (RBM)

The HEC revised funding criteria to require a "Logic Model". Researchers must demonstrate outcomes beyond publication:

• 🔹 Inputs: Resources used (staff, funding)
• 🔹 Activities: Setting up labs, fieldwork, hiring assistants
• 🔹 Outputs: Immediate products (completed research, papers)
• 🔹 Outcomes: Changes in behaviour, policy, or practice
• 🔹 Impact: Long-term changes in society, economy, environment, governance

Critical Challenges and National Resilience

International reports (World Bank) highlight "damning" challenges:

⚠️ Negligible R&D 🤝 Lack of collaboration instruments 📉 Skill mismatches 🌍 Low international student recruitment

Research is positioned as the primary tool for National Resilience: pandemic solutions, economic growth, environmental crisis response.

Evidence of Impact: Case Studies

♻️ Waste Management & Composting
150 peer-reviewed papers + 22 PhDs → national policy change: green waste diverted from landfills, national compost industry, plastics roadmap approved by Cabinet.

🗣️ Language Policy
4 years on Creole use → adopted in Parliament, enabling non-English/French speakers to follow legislative debates.

📐 Education & STEM
Research on why students (especially girls) avoid STEM → comprehensive STEM education framework.

🌾 Agriculture & Nanotechnology
Nano-fertilizer projects moving toward commercialization, new company with industrial partners.

🍋 Regional Impact – Rodrigues
Lemon cultivation research helped planters improve practices, established lemon factory for export.

The Way Forward

The future of higher education in Mauritius relies on "advancing research for impact" to create tangible societal and developmental outcomes. This aligns with UNESCO’s vision of forging a "new social contract" for education and research, ensuring they are prepared for emerging societal transformations and radical disruptions.

To secure future funding, particularly from international bodies like Horizon Europe, Mauritian researchers must master the logic model and prioritize the translation of academic findings into practical, real-world solutions.

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Adpated from Prof R.Mohee Speech delivered on 24 April 2026.