Saket Kushwaha, the vice-chancellor of Lalit Narayan Mithila University, on Monday turned a UGC-sponsored workshop into a classroom.

Addressing distinguished scholars at the commerce and business administration department’s auditorium, Kushwaha told scholar teachers and students how they should select topics for research and write it in accordance with international standards whose format is already available. In fact, he said, he was fed up with research work in practice at the varsity, as he had not come across any thesis that is free from plagiarism.

The VC said: “Going by international standards, an 18-word topic for research is recommended. Introduction of the research paper should be concluded in less than 20 pages. Researchers should abstain from malpractices. They have aspiring careers ahead if they complete their research with honesty.”

The post-graduate department of English had organised the UGC-sponsored workshop on “Practice and Prospect of Research Work”.

Uttam Lal Thakur, head of post-graduate department of English, told The Telegraph: “Only getting certificates from the varsity should not be the motto of students who really want to shape their careers for knowledge, glory and dignity. The workshop would definitely encourage budding researchers and others who want to pursue research.”

P.S. Sanyal, a literary scholar and retired professor of English, laid stress on changing the syllabus to meet international standards of higher education.

“Students today are being taught just what we used to study in our time. An effort must be made to change the academic environment if it really needs to be improved and cater to the needs of time to shape the careers of students in conformity with national and international requirements,” he said.

Other scholars laid stress on policy implications, which must be part of the research work so that the government can use it in its policy formulation.