In our latest startup story, we get to chat with the Founder of Research Planet, a proprietary platform for science and technology, created by international scientists, for scientists, universities and research institutions to collect and share research in a secure online environment. Research Planet has gone live today and Pressfarm has for the last few weeks been helping the startup to ramp up its PR efforts prior to the launch.
IDEATION
To get us started off, knowing the story behind Research Planet is important. The founder shares an interesting story about it. “The idea of Research Planet came to me when I was a PHD student in Europe,” begins Rafay Sidd. “I was thrown out of one of my PHD classes for challenging one of my professors about his theory. I started to think about how researchers and scientists are making the same mistakes repeatedly and it has never been recorded anywhere.”
There was a hole in facts running around researchers and scientists. A lot of missing information, and truths about challenges not being put out as it should be. Rafay realized that had there been a platform that allows documentation of facts, he could have received a lot of help from peers and like-minded people. “I a wasted a lot of time and money to prove myself right,” he says.
“The interesting fact is all my researchers and scientist coworkers made mistakes as well Because it was hard to produce positive results because we do not have enough data.”
At that moment he felt that he needed to find a place where he could have his questions answered and not penalized for thinking outside of the box. Throughout his time as a Ph.D. student, he saw scientists and researchers lacked proper communication. Also, they were making the same mistakes repeatedly which could have easily fixed if others could share their work publicly.
LACK OF DATA-SETS
“Students like us did not have access to data-sets, which could have helped us in finding a quicker solution. It is not only about research, wasted efforts and funds have seen many research projects not being funded due to the lack of enough data-sets.”
Soon after, Rafay moved to the land of opportunities, Silicon Valley, USA. He had a limited visa and made the train station his home. “I knew I had to find a solution quick. I started working as an engineer at a Fortune 500 Company and simultaneously working on my dream, Research Planet.”
UNIQUE FACTOR
There are existing platforms where research data published and shared. Platforms like Research Gate and Academia are in the same market. However, the founder of Research Planet is quick to note that there are so many differences cutting his company out as a unique offering to the research and scientist community.
As compared to other competing platforms, Research Planet’s mission is to be a one. Stop shop for researchers – something that no other platform has claimed to be or wanted to be. This is the company’s mission, and Rafay knows it sets them apart.
Collaboration and communication are a huge part of the startup’s vision. To ensure that scientific research transformed through collaboration and communication among scientists to advance research results and decrease the time it takes to go to market.
Research Planet offers a variety of modules or product, which not found on other platforms such as:
- Researchers Media: Our users have access to the principal web portal. Which allows the posting and sharing of R&D work, videos, research, bulletin boards and contacts.
- Researchers Catalog: Users shared assets, from scientific ideas and experiences. Importantly, we will avail Research Planet World Catalogues for researchers.
- Profile: Personalized information will facilitate connections between professional colleagues.
- Notes: Users will be able to collect, organize, preserve and share research.
- Manage Research Groups: Collaboration tool that organizes your research projects into boards.
- Communities: Users can establish broader networks and communities interested in collective scientific knowledge.
- Live QA Session: All Users will have the vehicles to address research questions and answers.
- Article Hub: Users are able to share, maintain and update unpublished research, scientific data sets and code.
COMMUNICATION
“By creating a bridge between science and society, we hope we will be able to tackle the issue of poor communication between researchers. We would like each Research Planet user to have a possibility to connect to each other directly.”
The users do not need to know each other to have a similar thought process. Universities and departments can communicate with each other directly. Each user has a possibility to record any kind of results positive or negative.
COLLABORATION
Collaboration is still a huge problem affecting researchers. Research Planet is addressing this issue by giving the opportunity to researchers to work together by sharing video, picture and/or queries. They will get feedback on the challenges they are facing in real time.
“We would like researchers to share their processes from start to finish. Why? Their failures or achievements, if seen, could stop another researcher from making the same mistakes and hopefully advance further research.”
With scientist or researchers exposed to this model. Research Planet is hopeful that they will see this as an advantage for them all around. By collaborating they can come up with solutions efficiently.
THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH PLANET
As we come to the end of our feature story, Rafay keen to elaborate that the startup intends to at the centre of research in terms of communications, collaborations, and conversations.
“We will help all scientist and researchers improve their journey of research,” he says. “Our goal is to help make research as simple and easy as possible. Also, we aim to connect each researcher and scientist with potential clients to advance their research results. So, This will help corporations reduce extra time and money spent in market.”