Collaboration in higher education: How sharing fuels research

At universities today, there is growing pressure on faculty to conduct and publish research. And according to a recent survey, hiring committees at research-intensive universities look at publishing as a primary factor when they’re considering assistant professor candidates.

As a top priority for both faculty and staff, researchers should be given every opportunity to thrive. But without the right tools, collaborating on research projects with partners at other institutions can be a challenge.

In part four of our series on collaboration in higher education, we’ll show you how Dropbox Education is making it easier for leading research teams to easily share data with partners around the world.

Seamless sharing across the research landscape

Over the past few years, university users have used Dropbox to share billions of files in different cities and with different email domains. From our research, we concluded that almost 40% of the files are shared with other universities. And the need for a seamless connection between universities and research institutes is greater every year. That’s why we’re excited about helping innovators exchange ideas faster and introduce their discoveries to the world sooner.

Connect and collaborate on a national and global level

Expanding your collaborative network opens the door to more research opportunities for faculty, staff, and students. Dropbox Education connects researchers who are working on similar projects but are cities, states, or countries away. This allows institutions to make better use of their time and share valuable knowledge.

Find out why over 6,000 universities rely on Dropbox

Simplify grant writing

Grant writing often follows the old adage: It takes a village. But if contributors don’t have easy access to the files and folders they need, submitting a complete application on time could be a challenge. Dropbox Education makes it easy for grant writers and contributors to access the most up-to-date file versions, track access, and gather comments from reviewers.

Streamline research workflows

How do students, staff, faculty, and researchers use Dropbox to make their work less of a paper chase? It’s starts by collecting materials. You can take and share class notes on Dropbox Paper, a collaborative workspace that helps you create and share early ideas.

Plus, you can create Dropbox folders to collect and timestamp assignment materials, compile assignment data in Excel, or perform analyses in Matlab/STATA. It’s also great for generating final reports. You can edit drafts, convert them to LaTeX, and send them to professors, who can review, grade, and distribute the final, edited version with researchers via shared folder.

“With Dropbox, our reach becomes as immediate and broad as the internet. An ASU curriculum specialist working in Singapore can develop and upload a shared graduate curriculum and connect with an educator teaching in Paris, an administrator in China, and IT support in Tempe.”—Gordon Wishon, Chief Information Officer at Arizona State University

To learn more ways Dropbox Education can help fuel research and innovation at your university, download our free eBook, Unlocking Collaboration in Higher Education. If you’re in the Philadelphia area next week, be sure to join the Dropbox Education team at the Educause Annual Conference.