Research lines-structures: key synergy for science and research management in universities

Abstract

The social mission of universities is the generation of knowledge in accordance with the goals and requirements of the societies where they are registered; however, this continues to be a challenge to meet through proper administration of science and research; since, in the university -as a medieval invention that has been innovated until today- the role and teaching activity prevail to the detriment of research activities and knowledge generation. In order to balance research, teaching and extension activities in universities, in recent times, standards and criteria have been created for national and international university accreditation systems focused primarily on broader parameters and in harmony with their social mission of intellectual production relevant to its context. These same criteria are being used for resourcing by the state and other sponsors of science. In this article, it is presented how the research lines-structures synergy is the key support of the administration of science and research that unifies efforts and can overcome the obstacles of teaching, bureaucratism and the commodification of university education, in search of a relevant research culture.