Age of Research in Collaboration: Are you ready for it?

In today's context, the research?and development arena has moved away from the 'work in isolation' state to 'work in collaboration' zone. In fact, collaboration is more valued in scientific research than it used to be some 2-3 decades ago. However, there are still instances where scientists may prefer to work in isolation.?

Some of the reasons that one may attribute to this work in isolation preference?includes; (a) focus?and concentration, (b) individual expertise and specialization, (c) pursuit of personal interests, (d) early-stage research and hypothesis development, (e) personal work style and preferences, and (f) limited availability of collaborators.?

However, the very nature of scientific pursuit is collaborative. Though one may claim to work in isolation, he/she will participate in meetings, conferences, publish research?papers which in more than one are means?for sharing and collaborating. Thus, collaboration and isolation are not mutually exclusive.?

In my opinion scientists may consciously need to make an effort to develop a collaborative platform?for himself/herself or engage with teams working on questions of one's interest. Thus, I would strongly argue in favour of the science of collaboration for the following reasons.?

• Enhancing research outcomes: Collaborative research has been shown to produce higher-quality research outcomes compared to individual efforts.
• Tackling complex challenges: Many scientific challenges today are complex and multifaceted and transdisciplinary in nature, requiring expertise from multiple disciplines.
• Leveraging complementary strengths: Collaboration allows scientists to leverage each other's strengths and expertise.?
• Fostering innovation: Collaboration has long been recognised as a catalyst for innovation.?
• Strengthening inter- and trans-disciplinary research: many of today's scientific advances occur at the intersection of different disciplines.?
• Promoting knowledge exchange and dissemination: Collaboration facilitates the exchange and dissemination of knowledge within the scientific community and beyond.

Thus, by pursuing the science of collaboration, scientists can improve the quality and impact of their research, tackle complex challenges more effectively, foster innovation, strengthen trans-disciplinary?work, and promote knowledge exchange. Ultimately, advancing our understanding of collaboration in science can lead to greater scientific advancements and contributions to society.

Welcome to the age of collaborative research!

Bests,

Vishwas