The office of the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer (VPRTT) directs research, community services, collaborative projects, technology transfer, and University-industry linking activities. This office of the VPRTT serves the community by supporting various research activities. The office funds three types of research within Hawassa University, namely disciplinary, thematic, and women’s research. The VPRTT works to advance the research through collaboration and partnership with all Hawassa University colleges and institutes.

Thematic research is a multidisciplinary type of research introduced at Hawassa University in 2017. The fundamental characteristic of thematic research is that it should include at least three sub-components from different disciplines, and the principal investigator of the research should be an assistant professor or higher. Thematic research proposals should be fit into Hawassa University’s priority thematic areas. Thematic research can take two years or more, and there is no budget limit for the research projects. Funding for thematic research depends on the depth of the thematic research. According to Hawassa University criteria, Master's or Ph.D. students should be involved in the thematic research. The thematic research is expected to produce a transferrable result to the end-user in various forms such as technological innovation, policy papers, manuals, guidelines, prototypes, publications, etc.