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The purpose of this paper is to show the development of an image processing-based portable equipment for an automatic wear debris analysis. It can analyze both the qualitative and quantitative features of machine wear debris: size, quantity, size distribution, shape, surface texture and material composition via color.

It comprises hardware and software components which can take debris in near real-time from a machine oil sump and process it for features diagnosis. This processing provides the information of the basic features on the user screen which can further be used for machine component health diagnosis.

The developed system has the capacity to replace the existing off-line methods due to its cost effectiveness and simplicity in operation. The system is able to analyze debris basic quantitative and qualitative features greater than 50 micron and less than 300 micron.

Wear debris basic features analysis tool is developed and discussed. The portable and near real-time analysis offered by the discussed work can be more technically effective as compared to the existing off-line and online techniques.

Researchers’ competencies are directly related to the quality and effectiveness of the research they produce. However, training opportunities for education and conducting research seem to be limited for the growing research culture in Pakistan. The purpose of this study is to assess the research-related training needs of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) of Pakistan.

A quantitative research approach was used to conduct the study using a questionnaire. Non-random sampling technique was used to collect the data from the postgraduate (MPhil/MS and PhD) researchers enrolled in the two well renowned Pakistani Universities.

Results of the study confirmed that PGRs were interested in developing their skills in various areas of a research project such as topic selection, research design and use of data analysis software. Findings also highlighted that respondents were interested in learning reference management tools for citing and managing the sources of information in their research work.

This is the first study, which investigated the training needs assessment of PGRs enrolled in two major Pakistani universities. The results may help in designing training programs, promoting a conducive research culture in the country and improving the quality of research being produced. This study provided a framework likely to be beneficial for quality enhancement cells, universities and organizations in organizing effective research training and development programs for researchers of Pakistan.